CGC Success!

I am happy to report that Zoe and I took the CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test yesterday and passed! I was so proud of how well she did. She's made great progress in her ability to control the urge to run/drag me to see either a person or another dog. We had one small glitch with her being in a new place and needing to sniff out corners as we were on our walking nicely exercise, but she suddenly seemed to realize what she was supposed to be doing and became the heeling princess - bouncy, tail wagging and watching me. Very cute! While this test isn't like being in an obedience trial, it's a nice way to show that your dog can behave and be a good "dog citizen". I encourage everyone with a dog to take a short class and see how they do on their test. :)
I have been working with Zoe on turning on a light switch by using a junction box I made with a light switch attached. Something we learn as we train dogs is that just because they do something "perfect" at home, it doesn't mean they understand it is the same request I'm making at the shopping mall. The same applies here in that her turning on the switch with her nose while I hold the box is not the same as turning on the switch on the wall. So I am now holding the junction box up against the wall and will begin moving it higher and higher until I can transfer this to the actual light switch. She does turn the lights off by using her paws.

Wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Healthy New Year!

Just Working

I'll have to get a picture of this; I've been working with Zoe on helping with the laundry. I have a stacked washer/dryer, so she goes into the washer below and pulls out items, hands them to me and I put them in the dryer on top. She really enjoys doing this..although, sometimes the socks are taken for a walk-about before bringing them back to me! What is it about socks?!
We're also working towards taking our CGC. She will do everything fine, except meeting a person and meeting another dog right now...she just gets SO excited to see them and doesn't want to wait until we get to them - she wants to pull me to them to say hello, then she sits properly. While it's nice that she's good about meeting, I need her to understand she must wait for me. We're also working on her finding my phone and bringing items to others. It really is a fun time right now! I can't wait to see her reaction to the snow soon - she loved it last year when she was a little girl, I can imagine how much fun she'll have this year! And at least then my yard won't be dragged into the house every day on muddy feet. :)

Visit With Children's Hospital in St. Paul

Zoe and I had the great opportunity to visit Children's hospital and give a short demonstration. We talked about the difference between a therapy dog and a service dog as well as show some of Zoe's skills that will one day help someone with a mobility impairment. The audience was a group of O.T./P.T. site managers who took their lunch time to listen. What a great group of people - I can certainly see they love what they do and the children they help every day! Our hats off to all of you! Thanks to Deb and Grace for being Zoe's assistant and camera person! One picture is of Zoe bringing a book bag to Grace - Zoe also tugged off her socks and shoes!

Emma Krumbees with the Sullivans

We had a great time visiting Emma Krumbees in Belle Plaine. Zoe was a very good girl in the restaurant and laid down to sleep for the time we spent having a wonderful meal. Afterwards we were able to go out and play on the pirate ship, tractor and truck - these were super-sized! Zoe had a great time following the boys. Thanks to Michael, Elija and Gabriel for giving Zoe so many great hugs, she loves them!

Sharing Photos

A couple new pictures taken today. It's amazing to look back at the earlier posts and see how much she's grown. How quickly time passes. Zoe continues to impress me and those she meets with her lovely personality and steadiness. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

Twins Game!

Gotta love those Twinkies...oops...did I say that out loud?! Actually, it's a lot of fun to go to a game. Especially taking the light rail down. Zoe did very well on the train...other than finding a lump of gum on the floor (notice blue spot on her nose) and enjoying a chew before I had to take it out of her mouth -- YUCK!!

She did very well in the tight seating - she behaved going past the people on the end of the row and laid down under the seat. I wonder if it was the spilled popcorn under the seat that really had her going under so quickly! It was quite funny when she popped up with front legs on my shoulder and those behind us gasped a little in surprise! They hadn't been able to see her when everyone stood up to let us in. After a couple of innings, we moved down to a section that had a lot more room for both of us. ahhhh...

Zoe Takes a Day Off!

What fun we had going up to Grandma Sue and Uncle Steve's lake in Wisconsin. Zoe had the opportunity to run around in the water chasing tennis balls with Glory and Smooch. It wasn't quite deep enough to swim, but that was o.k. with Zoe! She also got to go on her first boat ride - the getting on part was a bit scary, but once she saw the other two dogs going on and off, it was no big deal.

This picture is Zoe enjoying the pontoon ride and just hanging out with the girls.

On Sunday, she enjoyed playing with the sprinkler....
Fun with water never stops!

Zoe and Ruby Do a Commercial!

Zoe and her pal, Ruby, were used in a shoot for By The Yard furniture. This is one of A.A.D.'s Businesses of Honor. They have been a great support for our organization. It was nice to be able to help them out. Sounds like these two little girls had a great time while shooting it too!

Zoe's Progress and Newspaper Article

Zoe and I have been going to obedience classes. Because we've been working a lot outside of class, she moved from beginners into intermediate rather quickly. I'm hoping to take her CGC test somewhere around her 1st birthday...which is coming up very quickly! She does a great job in the classroom, but has a tougher time applying that to outside work! Just so many wonderful smells to find!

Here are a couple pictures taken by Katrina Styx of the Jordan Independent newspaper. Zoe and Ruby have become a bit famous in our small town of Jordan. A very nice piece about American Assistance Dogs ran in the Jordan Independent, April 23rd issue. Katrina was able to get some great shots of Zoe working around the house. Thank you Katrina and Jordan Independent for the story and the pictures!

http://www.jordannews.com/

http://www.jordannews.smugmug.com/gallery/7970722_ZgTwE#517789438_VdPyV

I have to say for a 10 month old pup, I'm very impressed with Zoe's progress in her training. She's at a point now where she loves to learn. She's also developed a rather fun and silly personality...every morning I wake up to slippers in my bed that she has kindly brought to me! Of course, there was also the "open field tackle" performed by her and Monty... thank goodness I landed in the grass!

Zoe & Ruby Visit 2nd / 3rd Graders

Zoe and Ruby visited the classroom at St. John's elementary school in Jordan. What fun we all had! The children were so polite and had wonderful manners. The puppies did great too. It's tough for them to settle down. We read the book, "My Buddy" about a young boy in a wheelchair who receives a service dog. We talked about what service dogs do (you can see Zoe fetching a spoon in one of the pictures), how long they're trained, whether you can pet them when you see them with a vest on, etc. The children were kind enough to pet the puppies the entire time...the pups sure loved that! We hope to visit again soon!

Pet Expo 2009

What a couple of long, but fun days! We met so many great people and the two puppies, Ruby and Zoe, were amazing. There were dogs and people walking past our booth constantly and yet we were still able to put our puppies on down stays, do some training, and have them greet both people and dogs with good manners. They were able to take a few outside breaks and just goof off some, which was very helpful for their attitudes. I was even able to teach Zoe to pick up her leash! We were just down the aisle from the "dock dogs" - those are the dogs who take off and leap into the air and land in a pool...Zoe was quite jealous she wasn't up there with them! Hopefully, she'll get her opportunity at a lake this summer.

Snow Days!

This little girl sure is growing fast! I hope to have some new training pictures soon. For now a few pictures of her in the snow. She and my dog, Monty, now have access together during the day to go outside and play. We still "practice" using the kennel from time to time so she continues to be comfortable in it, but it's nice to come home to a somewhat tired puppy! She absolutely loves the snow - running, jumping, chasing the shovel, burrowing her nose in it - just tough to get pictures of all that! One thing that Monty has shown her is how tasty the berries are on the bush in our yard....

As much as I'm looking forward to spring, I'm not looking forward to mud season! Having the nice white CLEAN snow covering the frozen ground has it's advantages!