Friday, February 26, 2010

Beth's Request.. and some extras ;)

Here are some extra pictures of Casino night that I didn't manage to squeeze in last night :) Hope you enjoy ;)

Picture of Dakota, a red very fluffy labradoodle, he has his Diabetic Dog jacket on, he is laying down at Ben's feet facing away from me
Picture of Dakota, Ben's Diabetes alert dog from GDTx. 
Sorry I couldn't get his face in it - I didn't want to call his name :|


Picture of my let and Bob's head right next to my foot, he's falling asleep
Bob laying nicely between my feet. He was very tired at the time. 


Picture of Annie and her Husband standing behind the ticket table, they are talking to a tall guy in a black suit, his back is to the camera
Annie and her husband - Annie is an employee from GDTx ;) 

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Casino Night



This is a comic-like cartoon of two stick figure dogs, both wearing black out sunglasses and holding playing cards, one's tail is wagging. The caption reads When playing poker with dogs, always watch for tells


So GDTx just recently (Saturday) had its annual Casino Night fundraiser and Bob and I were invited to go and "work" it. That pretty much means lets go and show off the puppy haha. Well Darrell didn't go because he wanted to go hunting with his cousin so I forced Erin to come with me. I knew Bob would probably be stolen from me and passed around so I needed a date lol.

                    {Ernie with his guide}
This is a picture looking down the hallway of the hotel where the fundraiser was, it is a picture of one of the GDTX employees Ernie and his black lab guide dog

It was a very fun and interesting night - Bob got stolen right when we walked through the door haha. After a while though he was brought back to me so I could take him to go busy because he didn't go before we walked in. Not that we didn't try though haha. On our way back in I met up with another puppy raiser who has another puppy that came from NY (where Bob came from). She's a week older than him though. Anyways, we had gone up to her raisers room (the puppy's name is Celia by the way) and let them play for about 20 or 30 minutes. We took them out again and went and joined the party for a bit.


{Picture Of Erin}                           .       
Picture of Erin with a big grin on her face - its just a head shot but its pretty
One kind of funny story that had happened was when Erin, a friend and I were sitting over in a corner chatting - Bob was passed out between the wall and my chair. Very hard to see because it was dark. Anyways, a random guy had come over and asked to pet him. First thing I thought was "how the heck did you see him?" and second thought (which I actually spoke out loud to him haha) was "Well if you can squeeze over here yes, but he's sleeping and I'm not going to wake him up". Ok, I know that sounds kind of rude when written but it didn't come out like that... So we moved the little table and the guy came over and stroked Bob a few times - I don't think Bob even opened his eyes haha.. Celia really wore him out. Well they guy was going on about how the dogs make good hunting dogs and asking where he could get one and yada yada.. lol I snuck out to go to the bathroom because he wasn't really talking to me, he was talking to our other friend (who sits for GDTx all the time.. ) So yeah. When I got back we were ready to head back into the party and I was ready to actually go play cards. Little did I know how hard that would be with the B. O. B. 


                    {Ben with his chips!}
This is a picture of Ben, one of the GDTx clients, however his dog is a diabetic alert dog. He is holding up a small stack of chips and smiling for the camera.
So Erin and I head off to play blackjack, I had Bob on a down and played 2 hands before he got up. So Bob sit, good, down.. good! Well out comes another guy - "Wow, he's really smart, how old is he, its crazy you get him to do that so quickly" haha. So I get into this long conversation which stopped my playing blackjack, it was ok though because I think the dealer was getting annoyed at me (I wasn't paying very well attention). Haha, so I head off to go learn how to play craps.. That didn't go so well.. I pretty much had no idea why I was getting chips and felt stupid when the dealer talked to me so I didn't stay there long haha. So me and a friend start heading over to a poker table, well on the way we got ambushed lol. There was a guy who kept coming over to pet Bob all night long - I didn't mind, every body pet Bob at least twice lol but this guy pet him every time we passed haha. Well anyways, he asks to pet him and I say ok and get Bob in a sit. They guy starts petting him under his chin - ok. Thats when I spot a chunk of cheese in the guys other hand - so I look closer at Bob.. he's chewing! Bum bum buuummm. So both the friend and I spot this at the same time and tell the guy that the dogs aren't allowed people food. He said sorry and looked kind of depressed... I said sorry back and told him its not good for them. He was a guy that worked at the hotel the fundraiser was in so he didn't really know the rules.. But still... hmm. Side-note - Bob had horrible gas the whole next day. Ok, back to Casino night. We went to the poker table and played until they shut it down (which was only like 20 minutes haha) We then went and said bye to some people and let people say bye to Bob - Erin was carrying him at this point because he was pretty much dead lol. Then we headed home grabbing Jack in the Box along the way! 

This is a picture a plate Erin is preparing for us to share, there are 4 strawberries, 2 marshmallows and 2 cookies. She is pouring chocolate over the fruit and mallows.a picture of the dessert buffet, there was pretzels, marshmallows, cookies, bananas and strawberries with a big pot of dipping chocolate at the end of the table





{Dessert Buffet!}













Ok, brings me to my question(s) of the day! Has anyone ever tried to give your dog tidbits? Did they get away with it? What did you do?

{Erin and a very worn out Bob}

Picture of Erin holding Bob, She is laughing and he is on his back with his legs up in the air, his ears are all crooked too. He looks very out of it.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Links

So guess what I just found out!?! GDTX has put a link to Bob's blog on their website! So in return I put a link to them on mine! It's over there << To the left lol. Click on their logo to go to their page and then click on Bob's page to come back haha. Ok, just some fun news!

Wanting

I want to post, but just can't seem to pluck up the uh energy right now... It's been a long week and its only Wednesday... Promise though, one will be up soon.

Here's a pic... maybe I'll do that Wordless Wednesday like a lot of other people do... hmm.

This is a picture of Bob, taken from above. He is sitting in his puppy coat and looking up at me, his blue leash is trailing out of the picture. He's super cute

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Such Funny Noises Part Duex!

Another video of Bob sleeping - this time it was a different noise lol.

By the way - the player is not broken - there is no video because it was completely dark in the room and I didn't want to wake Bob-O up in fear that he might stop with the funny noises!



Weezy-Bob Sleepy-Pants



Here is the link if you want to watch it on Youtube Click Me!!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Bobbin in the river


Ok not really - Bob did not go into the river but we did take a trip to the river :) lol. My grandparents own a little house up a little north of San Antonio that is right on the Guadalupe River and my parents and other grandparents came down for the weekend. So we went too. We didn't do much but Bob got to meet another dog - a very old black lab named Grace. I learned some stuff about puppy behavior on this little trip. Bob didn't try to play with Grace once - he constantly bugs Egypt... Is this because he knows Grace is old and won't take anything from him and he knows he can get away with stuff when he bugs Egypt? Hmm...

Bob also learned to relieve on gravel so that was good - he didn't care at all.. I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go.. lol. He is doing very well in his potty training.. he actually went and sat by the patio door yesterday to go outside. That was exciting lol. One funny thing he did lately was figuring out how to work the springy door stopper... lol he would hit it with his nose and then jump around while it boinged. He did this about 3 times and then got bored. Well thats about it for now, like I said, we didn't do much so there's not much to say but here are some cute pictures.


Bob walking towards me in the sunlight - he is walking on a orange ish colored gravel


Bob standing in the living room looking up at me with puppy eyes


Egypt and Bob in the living room on a cow hide rug thing. Bob is laying down and his face is straight up in the air with his mouth open and his ears flopping back. Egypt is biting his neck lol.
Vampire kisses!! 

Darrell and Egypt out in the yard, he is squating down with her in front of him, they are looking at each other but Egypts eyes are shut because she is facing the sun.


Bob laying on the wooden porch with rocking chairs in the background, he's chewing on a big cow knuckle, his mouth is open and you can see his tongue and some of his teeth.


Bob's 20 foot training lead was tied around a support beam on the porch. He walked around all the rocking chairs and little table and tangled it up to where he had about a foot of free space.
He got all tangled up :) 

My dad is hugging Darrell and they both have awkward smiles on their faces. lol.
Darrell + Dad = Love

Bob laying at the top of the porch stairs, one foot is hanging over, he is basking in the sun.



Bob standing on the top step, he is in mid bark so his mouth is open slightly and his lips are poofing out a little bit.
Hey man, listen to me! 

Bob sleeping on a blue dog bed, he is all curled up with his paws entertwined and his head a little under his front legs
all pooped out

a picture of bob in his pop-up crate. Its a view from the side, you can see part of mr. duck through the mesh window.
In the pop-up :) 

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Puppy Smarts or Coincidences ??

So Bob is odd.. very odd and I can't figure out if his little odd actions are him being really really smart or him just appearing to be really smart... hmmmm.

Ok so by now you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about right? Well here is what I'm talking about...

For two days in a row now I have the feeling like Bob is just humoring me when I ask him to go busy right before he gets lunch. He knows when he gets out of the kennel that he's going to get lunch.. he knows his schedule haha. Anyways, when I take him out to go to the bathroom before lunch he doesn't want to go - he just tries so hard to get back inside and straight to the spot where he gets his food.. Well I make him stay outside and tell him to Go Busy so he'll give up walk like 1 step and do a tiny little squat and gets out what tinkle he can and then runs over to the door again... Is he humoring me just so he can get to lunch earlier?

Another thing is today while I had him on tie-down next to the couch while I did some homework and Bob picked up something off the ground - laundry linty stuff I think because he got it from right next to the laundry basket. Anyways, I saw him chewing out of the corner of my eye but when I actually looked at him he looked up and stopped immediately.... I thought he had swallowed whatever it was so I looked away.. but as soon as I did he started chewing again.. so I got him and got the little paper thing out and let him go... So, my question about his brains - did he stop chewing because I looked at him and he knew that I would take it away or did he just happen to stop chewing for the exact length of time that I was watching him? Hmmmm we'll have to see what he does next time this happens...

Any other funny stories like this?

This is a picture of Bob laying on a brown and white striped dog bed. He's laying on his back and trying to either bite his back feet or his tail so his mouth is wide open and he looks kind of crazy.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Our ears hear such funny things...

Ok so about a week ago Michelle gave the web address for one of the client's blogs. Well on it he had a list of ten things he or his guide dog has heard since he received him. One of them was pretty ridiculous, it said "I know you're not supposed to feed those dogs but I just gave yours a piece of my sandwich." Um, ok, I would slap someone... Anyways, it made me wonder what all kind of crazy things I would hear when I got Bob.. So now that I have heard some crazy things I wanted to list some of the stuff so far.

Of course there has been the oh he's so cute and he's gonna be big and it's going to be so hard giving him back, you know.. all those comments. But here are a few more that kind of stick out, by the way, all of these are from adults...

1. Oh is the little one the big ones baby?
2. Is that one (Egypt) going to train the other one (Bob)?
3. Are they siblings?
4. Do they blind-fold the dog to train him?

Thats all the ones that I can remember right now.. more to come I'm sure lol.

There was also one lady who her son has just had sooooo many dogs and they're all sooooo big and good luck with training, he's going to be huge. I say back "Oh well they try to breed them not so big so we'll see, I'm not worried about him getting huge". So she says back "Oh honey no no, he's going to be big, trust me I know, my son has tons of those dogs.." Uh, ok bye then. Lol... She's really the only person that has gotten on my nerves with Bob so far... its funny because it wasn't even a big deal but just the way she talked, like she knew everything you know... eh oh well.

bob about to bark - his lips are kind of puffed out a bit and his face is going straight up into the air
Cute Picture :::

Ok, so I know we're supposed to teach them not to bark and such but his face was just too cute so I had to at least get one picture ;)

By the way I did not make him bark - he did it all on his own.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

I should be studying...

So, new blog name - I really struggled finding anything that I liked better... there was bob dot com .. all three words smushed into one but Erin and Darrell didn't like that.. So It's now What about Bob? :)

Well Bob has come to school with me and has done really well. Thursday he was pretty much perfect lol. There was a point where one of my crazy teachers got a little carried away with his story telling and started yelling about some stuff... this really excited Bob and he looked like he was about to woof at him but I got his attention back on his bully stick and all was quite. Well, except for the crazy prof.

Today I didn't have class - The one teacher I was talking about a few posts ago was gone today and that's my only class. But Darrell still had to go talk to a professor and he's only been to that office once, so I decided Bob's training walk would be to that office and back (which is actually pretty far). He did ok until we got to disability services to say hi to all the ladies in there - they all loved Bob and I let them say hi while I was holding him. Well I guess they got him a bit too excited because as soon as I set him down he started leaking lol. So I scooped him back up and we headed outside and I found a place for him to go. Well he wouldn't and Darrell needed to get to that guy's office before he left.. So after a few minutes of just standing there I put Bob's vest back on and we took off.. Well a few minutes later he started doing the sniffy thing and I tried to let him relieve again in a new spot - again with the not going. I think it was just that he was too interested in everything else... So I didn't really trust him after that so I rotated carrying him and letting him walk just a little bit. We were able to make it back home and he went there.

Anyways, those are pretty much our adventures for the days he's been with us.. We did take him on a very very short trip to target today to pick up a baby shower present. I thought he would be scared of the cart and had my sister go with us so she could push it and I could walk him but he didn't even care! Yay Bob!!

He and Egypt got to play in the living room today - they did pretty well - she got onto him after a while and he ran off all scared for about half a second but then he got over it lol. I can't tell who is going to be the dominant one yet.. he submitted to her a bit today, rolling over and doing the whole - I'm sorry I'll be cute now thing, but he was also able to steal a toy away and she didn't do anything.. so who knows? Anyways, those pics will be up probably after Monday - I have a test and need to study the rest of the weekend so those won't be uploaded till later ;)

So, thats about it then, here are a few more mug shots of him from last night, he got a new crate - the other one was the New York School's property so Michelle had me switch it out - there's a green blanket on top so that he can't see every move I make - turns out he doesn't like it when I leave haha. (Do ya'll cover up their wire crates?) It's not completely covered up though, he can see out of the front and about an inch on the side so yup. By the way, it's very hard getting good pics of that guy... he never stays still!!! haha.

Bob staring at me from inside his crate - he is very sleepy and his head is kind of hanging
Get that camera out of my face.. I want to sleep! 

This is bob trying to fall asleep and chew on his duck's head at the same time
Maybe I'll chew a bit on Mr. Duck first... 

This is a side profile of Bob, you can really see his pretty dark brown eyes, he actually looks kind of grown up in this picture
Get my good side! Don't I look like such a big boy?!

Bob right after breakfast - you can't see his nose, just his big pink tongue licking it













I really really like my breakfast! 

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Such funny noises ;)

Here is just a video of Bob snoring from last night :) So cute.





Here is the direct link to the video on youtube > Bob Snoring
You can't really see anything in the video because the light is bad (it was night time lol) All you can really see is the door of his crate. Hope you like ;)

Letter to the class

I sent out this letter this morning to all the students in my class... tell me what you think.. Warning, it's long.

Hello all, I wanted to write to let everyone know that I will be bringing a Guide Dog Puppy in Training to class with me most days of the semester (starting today). I am a volunteer with Guide Dogs of Texas and will be raising one of their future guide dogs for about 18 months, after he's learned everything I can teach him he will go back to the facility and learn how to be a formal guide dog for a blind or visually impaired person who lives in Texas. It is a free service for blind individuals in Texas and gives them an independence that you and I take for granted everyday. If you have ever seen a working team out in public you can see how much concentration it takes from the person and the dog. They must work as a team and distractions will only hurt this team. So - getting to my point. You can help me and be a vital part of the training process by simply ignoring the puppy. I am asking everyone to please not pet him, look him in the eyes, or distract him in any way; this includes making noises to get his attention, saying hi in passing, and offering any food/treats to him. Having him concentrate completely on being a good puppy is very important to the training process and any distractions can be very detrimental. I know when we are in class he will just look like he is rolling around not working but over time this teaches him to be quiet, patient and calm whilst his owner is busy. Now, this doesn't mean you can never pet him, there will come a time when he will need to be introduced to all kinds of people (short, tall, big, little, wearing different clothes - like hats and backpacks, different colored hair.. stuff like that) but now isn't the time. Once he is older and knows not to freak out when somebody pets him it will be ok to ASK to pet him. But please, never while I'm in class... once he and I are settled in class, please don't ask.

Now it might be in the back of your mind that I am just doing this so I can bring my pet to class, but I promise this is not the case. He is not my pet nor will he ever be, he is the property of GDTx and will go back to them after about a year. Yes this will be hard but I knew it before I started this whole thing so I'll get through it. Also, There are a few service dog teams here on campus and if you have seen them walking around you can see how much these dogs do for their individuals. My fiance being one of them I get to see it everyday and can't express how thankful we are that he has her (the big yellow lab walking around campus). So while it is rewarding for me, 100% of it is to give back what we have been given in hopes that he will grow up to be an amazing guide and help someone like we have been helped.

So again, please try your best not to distract him and please don't get offended if I need to remind you.

If you would like to learn more about the program or volunteering with GDTx you can go to their website at www.guidedogsoftexas.com, there is a long list of links to click on on the left hand side of the page. Thanks for understanding.


Natalie Fowler



P.S. If you ever happen to meet a working team here are a few etiquette tips that might help when saying hi or trying to help the team.

As tempting as it may be to pet a Guide Dog, remember that this dog is responsible for leading someone who cannot see. The dog should never be distracted from that duty. A person's safety may depend on their dog's alertness and concentration.

It is okay to ask someone if you may pet their guide. Many people enjoy introducing their dogs when they have the time. The dog's primary responsibility is to its blind partner and it is important that the dog not become solicitous.

A Guide Dog should never be offered food or other distracting treats. The dogs are fed on a schedule and follow a specific diet in order to keep them in optimum condition. Even slight deviations from their routine can disrupt their regular eating and relieving schedules and seriously inconvenience their handlers. Guide Dogs are trained to resist offers of food so they will be able to visit restaurants without begging. Feeding treats to a Guide Dog weakens this training.

Although Guide Dogs cannot read traffic signals, they are responsible for helping their handlers safely cross a street. Calling out to a Guide Dog or intentionally obstructing its path can be dangerous for the team as it could break the dog's concentration on its work.

Listening for traffic flow has become harder for Guide Dog handlers due to quieter car engines and the increasing number of cars on the road. Please don't honk your horn or call out from your car to signal when it is safe to cross. This can be distracting and confusing. Be especially careful of pedestrians in crosswalks when making right-hand turns at red lights.

It's not all work and no play for a Guide Dog. When they are not in harness, they are treated in much the same way as pets. However, for their safety they are only allowed to play with specific toys. Please don't offer them toys without first asking their handler's permission.

In some situations, working with a Guide Dog may not be appropriate. Instead, the handler may prefer to take your arm just above the elbow and allow their dog to heel. Others will prefer to have their dog follow you. In this case, be sure to talk to the handler and not the dog when giving directions for turns.

A Guide Dog can make mistakes and must be corrected in order to maintain its training. This correction usually involves a verbal admonishment coupled with a leash correction, followed by praise when the dog regains focus and correctly follows a command. Guide Dog handlers have been taught the appropriate correction methods to use with their dogs.

Access laws, including the United States' Americans with Disabilities Act and Canada's Blind Persons' Rights Act, permit people who are blind to be accompanied by their guide dogs anywhere the general public is allowed, including taxis and buses, restaurants, theaters, stores, schools, hotels, apartment and office buildings.

Before asking a question of a person handling a dog, allow them to complete the task at hand.
Remain calm in your approach and mannerisms.

Never tease a dog.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Caution, Live Animals

So, today was a long day. This morning we dropped Qena off at the vet for all of her shots and stuff so now she is official now, yay!! 

Here is a pic of our pretty kitty :)

This is a somewhat close up picture of Qena - she is looking off to her left, you can see her little cute pink nose really well in this picture
This is Qena looking right at the camera, she has that sassy little kitty face on that says, take one more picture and you'll find a claw in your eye
This is a side pic of Qena, you can see some of the orange around her eyes, it looks like thick shimmery eyeliner.





Those are just a few cute pictures of her. She is a gray, black and brown tabby and she has one and a half orange toes on her front right foot. Even those pads are pink lol, all the other ones are black. She also has green eyes with streaks of brownish red in them. She is very calm and mellow, and not at all bothered by Egypt.. Egypt isn't bothered by her either. However, Her first impression of Mr. Bob wasn't too nice haha. Oh, didn't you hear? Bob is here!!! Yay for Bob!! lol. 

At some point throughout this day the puppy raising manager, Michelle, texted me and asked if I wanted to meet them at the Airport to pick up Bob. I was supposed to get him on Wednesday but since she offered I said yes and have been anxious all day! So he's here now and I'm pretty excited about the temperament I have seen so far. At the cargo place while is sisters were barking and yapping he only uttered one little woof. That made me happy lol. We brought him home and I immediately took him out to go busy but it was a no go, I wasn't too worried though because he did go when we picked him up. So then he had his dinner and we attempted to go again - still nothing. So he was banished to the crate for about 30 minutes until he really started to cry so I took him outside again and still nothing... uh hello Bob, you're supposed to go after you wake up, eat and play... what's with this puppy?! lol. So I stick him back in the crate and after another 30 minutes we try again. Success!! So, now that he has gone and is done with his after dinner rest I decide to play a bit and snap some pictures. So let you're eyes (and ears for you blinkies) enjoy the feast of Bob-alicious cuteness! 

Here is Bob looking at the camera, he is a white/yellow lab with slightly darker ears and really dark eyes.

here is another picture of him, he moved away from the camera so it's the side of his head, you can see his coloring better in this shot, he's going to be pretty light when he's older

This is him in his crate - the door is open, he had dragged his new stuffed duck toy into the crate with him, here he is laying down has one paw on top of Mr. Duck and is looking all depressed and lonely lol.

This one was taken right before the previous one, he had put his head up so the camera cut off his forehead but he still has a cute expression on his face. His head is pretty wrinkly, he has some skin to grow into.

This is him with his head kind of burried in Mr. Duck, his paw is still on top of him though and his head is crossed over his paw.













He's sound a sleep now in his crate -  We'll see how long that lasts lol. 

There will be another post shortly, that is if I'm able to finish with all my homework and studying - got a BIG test on Monday so gotta start now! Wish me luck!!

Oh, a few last pictures of Lola and Egypt, cause I thought they were cute too lol. 
This is a picture of Lola laying on one of the dog bed beds, she has light coming in on her from outside but it's kind of a bright gray shot because it was  drizzly outside, she's looking at me sideways so there is a little bit of white around her dark brown eyes


Egypt is about a foot in front of Lola, who is on the dog bed, she also has the gray outside light coming in on her. The angle of the camera makes Egypt look kind of funny but really cute, her nose and head are pointing down and her eyes are looking up at the camera making her have all white around really big brown eyes. Her eyes almost look like those cartoons where the animal's eyes get all big and cute