It’s Perfectly “Logic”al! Another Pup meets his destiny!!!

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019Leave a comment

I’m so excited to see another one of Sugar’s Amazing L’s finding their forever person!!!!

Logic was sent as a young puppy to be part of the Bergin College of Canine Studies. He’s been training there ever since and has been matched with his forever person!!!! I love the look of excitement on her face seeing her new partner!!! (Top 2 photos)

I wasn’t sure Logic as a litter puppy in our home showed the ‘obvious’ personality and behavior traits to make it all the way to graduation, but we all know that greatness takes time! I’m thrilled that time, training and the hearts of volunteers are what turns a puppy into a Champion of Hope!!!!

It’s also amazing to realize the teamwork that goes into making, training, and matching service/assistance dogs! In this case, Sugar started her career with Guiding Eyes in New York; wonderful staff and volunteers worked with her for two years. She then was placed in the breeding program with Can Do where she lived with us as her breeding and whelping foster home. The training continued where I took her to classes when she didn’t have puppies to keep her skills up;

When she had her litters, some were sent to various other organizations through a co-op in the service dog world to enhance the quality of service dogs around the globe. (She has puppies in Asia, California, Vancouver….and Grandpuppies in Hong Kong!)

There were countless other volunteers helping throughout Sugars career including two other fabulous Whelping homes (Sugar says hi to Mamas Dana of the C litter and Julie of the Z litter!), fosters when we were on vacations and the staff that guided her through her pregnancies and delivery with wonderful expertise!!!

And this is how Logic from her 3rd litter ended up at Bergin College of Canine Studies! If this doesn’t epitomize the statement of “it takes a village”, nothing does!

I’m thrilled that Sugar and her Sires (Shout out to Grainger from Guiding Eyes, Sire of the L litter!) made such reliable and wonderful puppies that will be changing lives for years to come!!!
#ChangingLives #MakingADifference

logic meeting partner

The Very First Day of the Rest of Their Lives!

October 13, 2018October 13, 2018Leave a comment

Friday was an unimaginable day for me! It is the day that I got to share in just a SMALL piece of the joy that someone encounters on the very first day that they bring their new life partner home with them! This is the culmination of a Sugar Babies journey!

Whelping homes don’t often get to see the results of the litter they raised up close; rather, they get to hear about it from a distance, watching the journey from afar and seeing the pups we’ve loved from the moment they were born growing into the dogs we dream of and changing the lives of others in ways we can’t POSSIBLY imagine as hard as we might try. We hear bits and pieces, we watch facebook posts to see how they are doing, and we catch glimpses of them as they grow if we are lucky.

For me, the L litter gave me more opportunities than I could have ever hoped for in following their journey! I heard the stories while they were in the prison program and got to meet their inmate handlers; I got to see them with their puppy raisers and long-term fosters while they were in training, I got to say hi to them on occasion and give them some love from their whelping mom-and I watched their journeys unfold.

One was career changed and gets to live a wonderful life with a family that loves him; One is in the breeding program and hopefully one day very soon we will hear that she will be a mama herself; two are currently in final training locally; two are in other programs (Canada and California) and will hopefully be finishing up their formal training soon; and ONE of them is going home with his forever person TODAY! He’s made the long journey, he’s passed the tests along the way, and he’s ready to start the journey of his lifetime!

Today is the most special of days that rarely we get to experience-but when all of the stars align and if you are exceedingly fortunate you get a glimpse into what the once little ball of fur that couldn’t see or hear gets to do change the world! This is the day that makes the work, the time, the stress, the sleepless nights, the endless laundry, the weeks of no life, the brain exhaustion, the challenges, the illnesses, the vet appointments, surgeries, emergencies, and everything else just melt away as if it never existed for those who volunteer to help bring assistance puppies to their final life point! Breeding fosters, Whelping homes, Great Starts, Puppy Raisers, long-term Fosters, Prison Programs, and all of the volunteers in between!

Down the road there’s a graduation-but that is months after the dog is placed. TODAY is when everything culminates into that PERFECT combination and you can FEEL the earth shift on its axis almost. You KNOW that this dog will change the course of their person’s life, of that there’s no doubt! It’s NOW, it’s HERE, it’s TODAY, and it’s AMAZING.

Love comes in many shapes and sizes-but this kind of love, commitment, bond, and energy supersedes the love we talk about in general terms. THIS dog, THIS person, THIS moment…..

The pages of the past have been written, but the pages of the future hold no bounds. The journey isn’t always a straight one; but with time, energy, hope, and a little bit of faith it is a journey worth having! Sometimes we don’t know how we arrived at this place, and sometimes we’ve had to endure a bit of sadness and disappointment. But then we look at where we are and we can’t imagine not having this moment that is presenting itself right in front of us, waiting for us to seize it and run with it full of joy and laughter.

The Big Long Wait…and Time for a Celebration-Part 1

July 3, 2018July 3, 2018Leave a comment

While she has spent a few years learning to be under the benches and chairs as part of her training, as a retired girl she just may be spending some time ON the benches now!

Monday, July 2nd, 2018 is a fabulous day for me! Yesterday is the day that I received the final paperwork and approval for the adoption of Sugar to our family!!! We are absolutely thrilled that Sugar is ours and we can’t wait to enjoy her retirement with her!!!! What is next in her future? How will she spend her retirement? I decided before I thought about her future that I would first reflect on her past that brought her to us in the first place.

On June 9th, 2015, I received word from Can Do Canines that they had received an email from Guiding Eyes and there was a possible breeding dog from their program available to them. They asked if I was interested and up for the task of having a breeding program dog in my home, and to let them know once I thought about it. It had been a tumultuous year; my father passing away from Alzheimer’s, a family member having serious medical issues that required 2 months of intensive care and hospital visits around the clock, and having to deal with the loss of a program dog that I was unbelievably attached to from unexpected complications of Lyme’s disease. Honestly, I just wasn’t sure I had “enough” of what it would take to have another program dog in our home. The questions swirled around in my head like a blur – “Could I keep my emotions intact to have another dog that wasn’t mine and not get too attached?”, “Was my heart ready for another investment of time, energy and love?”, “What would happen to the dog if it wasn’t able to be a successful breeder and could I deal with the disappointment?”, “Would the worry outweigh the joy?”

This is the very first picture I got of Sugar when she was at her first organization. Here she is in her harness out in New York.

After talking with my husband about it (who knew there really was no decision to be made, that I just had to realize the answer was yes all along:) we said yes to a dog named Sugar! We had a little apprehension but knew that this was another opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others by providing a breeding home for a program dog. We had whelped two personal litters and were even toying with the idea of being a whelping home, but figured that a breeding home foster was a good compromise! A breeding foster keeps the dog in the home including during the breeding, vet appts., ultrasound and x-rays until one week or so prior to the due date when they move into their official whelping home. So, some volunteers are breeding foster homes, some are whelping homes, and some are both! I think everyone was well aware that it was only a matter of time before I realized what they already knew – that there was no way I was going to be a breeding home without jumping in with both feet and becoming a whelping home too! There was just too much about puppies that I loved!

And the good news was that she was already bred while she was in New York the week prior, so all we had to do was to wait and see what the ultrasound would reveal during the week of July 4th!

Unfortunately there were some cases of kennel cough in the program and one of our temporary foster’s contracted it and passed it along to our daughter’s family dog who began showing symptoms on July 3rd-so while we were planning to get Sugar after the holiday, take her to her ultrasound and move her into our home, things didn’t go as planned. It seemed like unusual, unexpected events were the norm for me that year, and disappointment continued with a delay that could be weeks or months in the making. There was no way we could move a possibly pregnant dog into a home that had been exposed to kennel cough or it could be detrimental to the puppies that she could possibly be carrying.

And my life and plans weren’t the only one that had to change-this meant that Sugar had to remain somewhere else for an undetermined amount of time; would my house be ready in time for puppies if she was pregnant? Where would she go if it wasn’t? Who would be available to whelp a litter of puppies at the last minute and change their life for 8 weeks??

So, I swallowed my disappointment and it was determined that the Director of Training would bring her to her ultrasound while she was being fostered with her during this time. Then I got the call from her after the ultrasound saying she had a belly full of pups and her due date was in August! I was over the top excited and I think it was right then and there that my whelping journey and desire began! The due date was estimated as August 9th, but Guiding Eyes had put August 2nd as her due date so we had a range to work with! With the first hurdle being cleared, we had to just figure out how to tackle the second hurdle of the kennel cough clearing.

We had 3 dogs that had been exposed in our family, so we had to wait until the set time after all coughing had stopped and then verify that none of the other dogs were showing any signs of coming down with it for a set amount of time to make sure that all opportunities were gone for Sugar and the pups to be exposed unnecessarily. That also meant sanitizing both our cabin and home on every surface imaginable to prevent anything from being a concern. For those who know me, they are well aware that for these things I don’t leave ANYTHING to chance! Dog beds, bedding, floors, dog toys, leashes, crates……everything my mind could POSSIBLY think would be contaminated got disinfected, and that was basically everything. I think that I was in hyperdrive as well because of the unusual circumstances of the other dog in our home that we lost to Lyme’s disease. For almost every dog that contracts the disease, there is a treatment protocol that typically takes care of the issues and most dogs can live a full life after diagnosis. But since the unusual and extremely rare events unfolded then, my mind was sure that this was yet another case ready to rear its ugly head and I was going to do everything possible to prevent any opportunity for an illness in my home.

And so it went. Waiting. Hoping. Wating some more.

FINALLY, the kennel cough had cleared and it was time to start making arrangements to bring Sugar to our home! It was determined that Wednesday, July 23, 2015 would be her move in day. I had approximately 10 days to get to know this new girl, clear my schedule for the next 8 weeks, get our house ready for a litter of puppies, and begin a journey of whelping assistance puppies!

Below is a look into some of the communication that we had figuring out all of the moving pieces of Sugar’s beginning with the organization-some snippets for humor’s sake:

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Holly:
Wait for it……YEP! I have questions!!!! 🙂

Her weight when she arrived; her latest weight that’s been recorded
Her Birthdate
Any info on the number of siblings, etc.?
I discussed with staff about any restrictions during pregnancy, but if there is anything else you think I should know?
Did you find anything while she was with you that she enjoyed playing with? Balls, bones, ropes????

Okay, enough for now. 🙂

Holly

Training Director:
Holly,
I would have been worried about you if you didn’t have any questions 😉

Holly:

Also, I think I may have figured why she is whining/barking! We have been watching her and trying to pinpoint when she is barking what it may mean-she is barking/whining when we are sitting down, but every time we bring her out she goes to the bathroom right away. Is it possible that this is one of the trained behaviors of a seeing-eye dog-that since people may not be able to SEE her need to go outside that she has to alert them in another way? After she comes in she’s fine, lays down and no more barking or whining. (Although she does try to sneak up on the couch in our laps!) If you happen to talk to the organization, I would LOVE to find out if this is one of the trained methods!

Director of Training:

Holly,

I can tell you for sure that the whining/barking isn’t a trained thing. The staff person that had her prior to shipping her to us warned me about it. She thought it was tied to wanting attention as well.

Sidenote: (What I found out once I got to know her is that her whining and barking was because she is ALWAYS hungry! And that with only a few weeks to go, whining and barking was her way of telling me that she did NOT approve of the amount of food she was getting…. :))

Our very first day (and first hour) with Sugar!

Day 81 – Continuing the Journey of a Lifetime, 11 Weeks in the Making!

June 27, 2018June 27, 2018Leave a comment

It’s been an emotional 7 days in our household with a variety of different “Sugar news”. Last Tuesday, it was time for Sugar to be spayed and begin her journey of smelling the roses! In the very near future, she will be retired and we will be adopting her! She is well known and liked at the Vet Hospital due to her litters, and the cutest thing I heard was when the news was spreading amongst staff that Sugar was in for a spay one of the staff came up to me and said: “What do you mean, no more Sugar Cubes????” After a good chuckle, I told her no, it was time for Sugar to turn that over to the younger pups in the program!

The spay didn’t go as well as we had hoped. Due to her C-sections and litters, she had a bit more of a complicated surgery. It was a long night at our house with her. As the night became early morning and we still weren’t seeing the progress we had hoped, it became evident early the next morning that continued medical care was needed. Unfortunately, there was some unexpected internal bleeding which required her to return back to the vet for an additional procedure the next morning, some extra medications, and observation. She came back to our home on Thursday after her extended stay and has been recuperating while we spoil her rotten and get her back on the road to long walks, fun playdates and some great exercise in the not so distant future.

So it was wonderful to have a fun and rewarding time to play with adorable Sugar Babies tonight and unwind from an otherwise stressful week!

Seriously, how do you resist such an adorable face??

Today was the special opportunity that many whelping homes wait for patiently – the evening to see “their” puppies after they are away at the Duluth prison! They left around 6 weeks and now this N litter of Sugar’s is over 11 weeks old-the 7 pups have been away for almost half of their life and I couldn’t get to the facility quick enough for my play date with them! It felt like when my girls returned from college!

Norton offering his best sit on command!

When I arrived they were just getting taken out of the vehicle. Then they were corraled over to the training room where my husband and I would have the opportunity to play with them for about 45 minutes prior to their great start and puppy raiser families arriving to come to pick them up. Tonight would be their first official time away from their littermates. They spent time away from their siblings at night when they were all with different handlers, but they got multiple opportunities to play with them during the days while they were there. The first two weeks they still had Sugar there with them and the last 3 weeks they had the comfort of their other 6 siblings. They’ve been busy learning while they’ve been there, but that doesn’t mean that tonight won’t still be a tough adjustment for them! I will be curious to hear how the evening, the overnight and tomorrow go for these wonderful puppies!

While I thoroughly enjoyed playing with them, about halfway through I had to step away and detach a bit. This litter, in particular, I was a bit sad because I knew it was the last litter Sugar would have, so this goodbye seemed a bit more emotional and final than I had prepared myself for. I wanted this to be a happy celebration for these puppies who are going to do amazing things during their lifetime and I didn’t want that to be lessened by me falling apart into a puddle of tears, so that meant I needed to step away from the “playing” and observe a bit more from distance. Over the years I’ve learned a bit more about controlling those emotional stepping stones(but I’m still terrible at it!); I’m not sure if it’s because you get used to it, or you start learning how to protect your heart a bit more from the emotions of the experience.

You never get tired of seeing your whelping litters

Using a “settle” to keep this pup quiet during some of the filming from the news station

After the litter drank the WHOLE bowl of water, those eyes were expectantly looking for more!

The puppies were having a great time with the space and the toys

And as I was playing and watching the puppies, I started seeing the anticipatory faces of the volunteers who were coming to pick their new “adventure” up through the observation windows! I thought back to the time when I was the one picking up a puppy to puppy raise and how excited I was for the new opportunity I was embarking on! I can’t believe how many years have passed since that first experience, but my heart feels like it’s been way more than 6 1/2 years! It is FULL of experiences that 7 years ago I couldn’t have even imagined in my wildest dreams! Happy, sad, funny, exhausting, overflowing with joy, amazed, scared, determined……Offhand I can’t think of any emotions that I haven’t experienced through the puppies that I have been so fortunate to have in my house whether it was for a short foster, a long-term foster, a great start, being a puppy raiser, having a litter of puppies, or hosting a breeder dog (or two). Each of them has taught me something that is now part of me and that I can’t separate from even if I wanted to

Ken enjoyed the opportunity to say hello again as well

Norton wanted to sit and watch the other puppies roughhouse, but he wanted to catch a quick rest rather than joining in!

The mirror in the training room is always a big hit when the puppies arrive!

So, with time, things change. I get to say another goodbye and think of how my life will change again in the near future, with new and different adventures. Soon, Sugar will be OURS and we will get to write a new future together! I’m not sure what that future holds, but I know with Sugar by my side it will be amazing!

Right when we got home, Sugar went crazy when she smelled the puppies on me, grabbed a toy and looked at me like “where are they”??! Due to her surgery last week, we had to try and keep her calm and quiet, but she was waiting to play with her puppies!

Even though Sugar won’t be having any more puppies, I hope people will still read this blog! Since the blog is called “Life of Sugar” we still have a lot of things to say!!!! I think Sugar has many new things she will be enjoying! Hopefully, the next post you see will be about her official retirement from the program!

Day 8-What Blizzard? It’s Sunny, Warm, and 80 Degrees-At Least in the Whelping Box! (Perspective is Everything)

April 14, 2018April 14, 2018Leave a comment

THE GLIMMER OF POTENTIAL BEGINS TO APPEAR

As you can see by the picture below, it’s hard to remember it’s spring right now……

But perspective is so important! We may not be having the nicest weather currently, but hopefully, everyone will be able to settle inside somewhere and enjoy some good music, television, family time or just catching up on their to-do list. This won’t last forever….at least that is what I keep telling myself day after day after day…… 🙂

Perspective is also important when it comes to assistance dogs. There are all sorts of storylines regarding assistance/service dogs in our everyday world-from those who make training service dogs much more difficult because they try to pass off their pet as a service dog, to those who ask us questions about if assistance dogs are happy and ever get to “just be dogs”, to the dogs who have “made it” and are happily serving clients all over the world, changing their lives and wagging their tails! And let’s not forget the dogs who started in the journey of becoming an assistance dog and for a myriad of reasons were unable to complete THAT journey, but have gone on to lead wonderful lives of purpose as comfort dogs, therapy dogs, and precious pets. The great thing about dogs is that they change lives everywhere they go, and it’s not limited to those in only in the assistance/service dog world! They are truly amazing, and if you haven’t had the opportunity to see that then just take time to stop and observe one day and watch the dogs around you. They read their humans like no one can; they adjust to the changing world around them that’s out of their control with a calm stride and they make others laugh and smile-sometimes they are the only ones that can do this with such little effort!

People ask me why fake service dogs are a problem and I talk to them about how poorly behaved dogs that aren’t qualified to be out in public give ALL dogs a bad name in public places, not to mention the safety factor which is unfair to the dogs who aren’t adequately trained to be in all of those situations as well as the humans who encounter them. Just like you wouldn’t pay an untrained person to be your doctor or fix your furnace due to safety issues, having people who aren’t trained to handle public situations with dogs is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. Dogs that are put in environments that they haven’t been exposed to regularly can suffer from stress and anxiety, and that can lead to a bad reaction or interaction in a crowd. One bad experience with a fake service dog that you think is a legitimate service dog will taint the viewpoint of how these dogs serve clients in public spaces. The more issues that people and businesses encounter with fake service dogs, the more they question us volunteers about the dogs we are training in public. That’s exactly why it takes assistance dogs 2+ years to get enough experience and training to be successful in their careers and that’s why it’s so frustrating for fosters, puppy raisers and volunteers to have to endure the increased challenges of justifying why we have the dogs we are training out in public. If assistance dogs in training don’t have the opportunity to get out in public and experience all of the things they will need to know about before they go into service, this can decrease their confidence and make them less able to perform their tasks as needed.

As for dogs in training “just being dogs”, I can assure you that the dogs in training that I have personally fostered, short or long term puppy raised or have been a breeder host for have more opportunities, more fun times of play, more one on one attention, more toys (just ask my husband how many baskets of dog toys he begrudgingly has to tolerate in our living room) and more “just being dogs” than other dogs I have owned in my entire life! We experience life as a TEAM, and they get to enjoy things with me that I never got to enjoy with my own personal dogs. Movies, restaurants, cafes, parks, buses and light rail, pancake breakfasts and the list goes on! They’ve allowed me to see the everyday things in my life from a completely different lens and my perspective has changed in ways I could have never imagined!

When I had ankle surgery and was in a wheelchair and on crutches for 4 months, I realized how difficult it was to get places, how hard it was to open doors and how every task for me seemed so much more difficult to accomplish. I also realized that people are so busy in their lives that sometimes they don’t take the extra few seconds to help someone around them-not wanting to “offend” them by offering help or they are just too busy to stop. But when you watch clients with assistance dogs, part of the difficulty in some tasks gets removed but their companionship also provides comfort, and these dogs draw a great sort of attention that makes people react differently which is so incredible to watch!

And, don’t ever feel TOO bad for a career changed assistance dog; their lives are full of people who love them, families who play with them, and opportunities to continue changing lives! Many become certified therapy dogs and bring joy to another whole plethora of people!

So, on this blustery winter day, my suggestion is to change your perspective, and feel the warmth of these puppy pics-and just TRY not to smile!!!!! Feeling warm inside from the cuteness of these adorable puppies is a pretty good alternative 🙂

Miss Pink, Mr. Orange and Mr. Red making sure I remember what’s REALLY important-the small things!

Miss Pink-I just call her heart stealer……

cuteness overload! Check out the extra skin on the leg of Mr. Red-he’s sure got his Mama Sugar’s extra skin gene!!!!

Sugar just relaxing on this cold blustery day with her beautiful pups!

Mr. Blue getting comfortable

NOW he’s comfortable!

A little snuggle time with Miss Pink

Glimmer

Day 5: The Gift You Can Only Give Once-Puppies of Purpose Have a Busy Schedule Ahead of Them!

April 11, 2018April 11, 2018Leave a comment

Many people love seeing Service/Assistance Dogs when they are working with clients, but often don’t realize the work that has gone into those dogs over their entire lives to get them ready for the job at hand, and the work begins as soon as they are born. As a whelping home for my first time in 2015, I was a bit amazed at everything that these puppies are exposed to in the early days of their lives which research has proven has a direct impact on how well adjusted they can be as an adult dog! I also had to learn that holding and loving these puppies is critical, but it doesn’t replace the other things that puppies need to experience; new environments to experience and changing their environments to teach them to adapt to their surroundings, exposure to a whole variety of sights, sounds and smells, socialization with every possible opportunity once they are old enough (but at the very least with me and my husband handling them frequently until they can socialize with others) creating brain challenges for them to keep their neurological stimulation at its very peak so they can transfer that to becoming a dog that loves to work and help with tasks.

Here are the stages of these tiny pups and what they should experience in order to give them the perfect building blocks for success!

The excerpt below is taken from a Healthy Pets article by Mercola and does a great job of explaining the first 8 weeks of puppy development.

5 Milestones in Every Puppy’s Life

•Stage 1: Whelp. A whelp is any just-born carnivorous animal. The word is most often associated with newborn puppies. Whelping means birthing; to have whelped means to have given birth.

•Stage 2: Neonate. Neonate refers to a newborn pup from day 0 to day 13 of life. Neonate puppies can’t see (their eyes are still closed), can’t hear (their ears are sealed shut) and can’t pee or poop without stimulation (licking) from mom.

They have no teeth, nor do they have the ability to regulate their own body temperature.

These tiny babies depend on mom and their littermates to stay warm, which is why they tend to snooze in furry little piles. Neonates sleep about 90 percent of the time, and when they’re awake, they’re nursing.

Fortunately, they’re born able to smell, which helps guide them to mom’s nipples at mealtime.

The first milk a mother dog produces is colostrum, which contains the antibodies that transfer maternal immunity to help protect the pups from opportunistic diseases during their first weeks of life.

NEUROLOGICAL STIMULATION

Virtually all the energy a neonate’s body generates goes toward growth. They typically double their birth weight during the first week of life. Since they can’t yet stand, they sort of paddle around using their front legs. This soon leads to crawling.
It’s during this time (days three to 16) that its beneficial to institute early neurological stimulation (“super puppies,” as some say) which can oftentimes result in more balanced adult dogs.

The U.S. military did studies on raising puppies, and they found that doing certain exercises with puppies during the time of rapid neurological growth, between the puppies third and sixteenth day of life would increase the pups performance in later life. They created a program called the Bio Sensor program consisting of 5 exercises to be done once a day with the pups. They found that not only were puppies able to cope more with stressful situations, and problem solve better than other puppies, but that they were actually physically healthier with higher cardiovascular performance, stronger immune systems, adrenal glands and heart beats.

They are only done for a brief 3-5 seconds so as to stimulate the neurological functions without stressing them too much.

Holding them upright encourages neurological stimulation and blood flow

Holding them upside down for 3-5 brief seconds causes additional neurological stimulation which is different than when they are held upright!

The supine position has them laying on their back or cradled-I can just imagine those brain cells developing as we go through these exercises!

Using a Q-tip on the paws and between the pads is a tactile stimulation that can help them be adaptable in future situations where there is a flooring change, a different surface that they need to manipulate, etc. and keeps them learning to be adaptable to their surroundings

Placing the puppies on a cool, wet rag briefly continues to stimulate the neurological connections that they will use as they grow into adult dogs!

Below is a video explaining neurological stimulation by a veterinarian.

•Stage 3: Transition period. The transition period covers days 13 through 21 of a puppy’s life. The ears start to open at around day 14, and the eyelids between days 10 to 16. As you can imagine, these events give the pups a whole new outlook (literally) on their world.

They begin to respond to smells and tastes, and their little puppy grunts evolve to whines, yips and barks. By day 15, most pups are standing up, and within the next several days they take their first unsteady steps. At this point, they go from total reliance on mom to a bit of independence.

•Stage 4: Awareness period. The awareness period is day 21 to day 28. By 3 weeks of age, pups are using their senses of sight and hearing to learn. They’re beginning to play with their littermates and explore their environment.

This is also the time during which puppies gain some control over elimination and begin moving away from their “den” (sleeping area) to pee and poop.

•Stage 5: Socialization period. The initial socialization period encompasses weeks 3 to 8 in a puppy’s life. It’s during this period that her interactions with other pets and people increase, and she’s able to form attachments.

At about 4 weeks of age, mom’s milk production begins to taper off, and the puppies’ calorie requirements increase. As mom gradually weans her pups, they begin showing serious interest in solid food.

As luck (and more importantly, nature) would have it, at 3 to 4 weeks, the canine teeth begin to push through, and a full set of puppy teeth make an appearance between weeks 4 and 6.

Age 6 to 8 weeks is considered a critical time in every puppy’s socialization period. This approximately two-week window is when puppies are most accepting and least fearful of others.

How quickly a pup’s mental development occurs is a direct result of the environmental stimulation she receives during this period. By week 8, most puppies are fully weaned. Puppies need additional, expansive socialization from 8 weeks to 6 months of age to best acclimate to all life will throw at them as adults. At 3 to 5 months, permanent teeth begin to replace puppy teeth, and by 7 months, puppy has a full set of permanent teeth.

Here is a video that I believe explains the process of Super Puppy Training that Whelping Homes perform with their litters to help them have the best possible start in life on their journey to becoming an assistance dog!

Day 3-The Foreign Language of the Whelping Box; Strangely Familiar and Yet Totally Brand New at the Same Time

April 9, 2018April 9, 2018Leave a comment

The puppies have been in my home for 3 days now, and what I realize is that although it’s not my first litter, it’s a whole new world that I have to explore again with new eyes. Every litter, every momma dog, every experience, and every puppy is different; and every whine, cry, and pant that I had learned to decipher from a previous litter in my home is now only a casual reference point and I have to learn the “language of the box” all over again. I have to use what I’ve learned in the past to help guide me on this journey, yet I can’t allow the previous experiences to cloud my judgment for what’s in front of my eyes with THIS litter.

Dinner time!

A cry from a puppy can be that they are too hot, too cold, hungry, not feeling well, are looking for their mom, or have to go to the bathroom which they need Sugar’s assistance for, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The possibilities are endless, and as soon as I assume I automatically know what it is without exploring all of my options I’ve lost the benefit of fresh eyes to find the real reason for their vocalization. Honestly, it’s like learning a foreign language in a record amount of time! Some litters love a warm whelping box, while others don’t; some love being with their littermates and others love to be in the far corners of the box away from everything-yet puppies going off on their own could also indicate something might be amiss. So, you carefully watch and wait for their next move so you can compile the information and then come up with your best guess as to what’s going on and if it’s an issue or just puppies being puppies.

The puppy tubes give the puppies some traction while nursing so they aren’t slipping all over; we also use loop rugs to give them traction as they get more voracious appetites!

There’s what the books and the experts tell you about tiny little puppies and then there’s your vision of what you see, your gut instinct, and the interactions between mom and puppies. It turns you into a detective of sorts until you solve the mystery and you see a reaction in the puppies, the mom, or the environment that tells you either you are right on or try again. More often, it seems to fall into the latter category, and yet you don’t have the option to get frustrated because being alert to the tiniest of clues is really important. You don’t have time to pat yourself on the back, because a new mystery is waiting just around the corner to present itself for you to solve! The first big hurdle is the birth of the puppies, but sometimes people don’t realize that there are a hundred more hurdles along the way to them becoming 8 week old bundles of joy! Lucky for us, staff is there to guide us along the way with their knowledge and expertise so we don’t have to do the journey alone!

One litter in our home loved a 90-degree whelping box and this litter prefers more like an 80 degree box-but the variables are what played into that difference. Sugar is spending much more time in the box this time around and so they are cuddling with her nice warm body more often; the days have been sunny and the sunlight in the window can warm the room more than if it were the middle of winter; even my choice of waterproof pads and sheets can affect the level of heat that the floor retains which affects their comfort level. All of these things that change are out of my control and so I have to figure out how to solve it differently this time than maybe previous times. We watch the puppies constantly to watch their body language. If they huddle they might be cold, if they spread out they are too warm, if they cry it could be either or a combination of anything else!

By the end of the night, your mind feels like you’ve spent all day in a college-level course of a brand new language, and tomorrow you get to do it all over again with a whole new language! My brain loves a challenge, so this experience gives me opportunities in thinking “outside of the box” and to be open-minded. I honestly believe that my experiences in whelping have directly impacted my views of the real world; I have learned to explore options much more freely and to look for solutions that might not be “traditional”. It’s taught me to appreciate experiences and people, places and things that I may not have previously because you never know how much effort, training, skill or heart that has gone into what you see in front of you!

Pink got the prized spot for the moment:)

Mama! I’ve got a secret to tell you!!! I love you!

Nursing while laying down is EASY! But sitting up gives you an idea of just how smart I am already!

I never get tired of watching the puppies vie for their Mama Sugar’s attention!

Day 318-Training with an Inmate Handler-The Journey Continues!

September 23, 2017September 23, 20171 Comment

The unbelievably talented producer Mark with two of his stars for the documentary! Liam on the left and Lyric on the right.

And yet another incredible day to visit the Sugarbabies Lyric and Liam, interview the incredible handlers, watch all of the Stanley dogs interacting and playing, and appreciate their great training talent and the prison programs that help to make Can Do Canines dogs successful and life changers! “Inspiring” doesn’t even do justice to the day and I so appreciate each and every opportunity I get to learn more!

The training that the handlers are doing with all of the dogs (not just Lyric and Liam) is truly magical. As a volunteer myself, I watched them show me some of the training and commands and I couldn’t believe my eyes! Teaching the dogs that they have independent foot movement by placing their feet on small FITpaws objects one at a time on command, pinwheels spinning in one direction, Whirling by turning and spinning in the opposite direction with a flick of the wrist, “parking” by turning around in front of the handler and backing under a chair they are sitting on, taking the full bag of training treats gently to another bystander with a soft mouth and never even TRYING to eat the treats, pivoting beautifully, sending them out around a post from a distance where they return to a beautiful “front” position waiting for their next opportunity to please their handler……the list could go on and on!!!! Oh, and did I mention the ‘simple’ job of a dog performing tasks based upon a music note that is being sung??????? 🙂 To be honest, I felt a little bit inadequate as a volunteer trainer! I was thinking, “Wait, I have to learn how to teach that!” I had to remind myself that the obedience portion of the training like sit, down, wait, recall, and loose leash walking is the most critical part of assistance dog training, and that the reason these dogs know so much more is simply because they have much more time to learn these things and it gives dogs in prison jobs to do to keep from being bored.

As I spent the day interviewing them and watching their efforts unfold in amazement, I kept thinking how much time they have spent working with these dogs. They are making a difference in these dog’s lives, and they are making a difference in the lives of the future clients. As volunteers for this organization, we tell ourselves this as well. But as the day progressed, I got a sense of HOW MUCH these dogs are changing the handlers lives-and it is in this place where the difference between inmate handler and volunteer diverges a bit.

As volunteers outside of the prison program, we take a puppy or dog into our home and we independently train it to the best of our ability so that someday in the future it will have the best chance of being an incredible partner for a client. It is us and a dog. We go to training class with others, but it is mainly one on one work that we do with the dog. I want the dogs I train to make everyday life easier, social opportunities greater, and independence for the client is an expected result I hold myself to.

In prison, the handlers have the same task-but with many more obstacles in their way along the journey. They live with others 24 hours a day and have to navigate through the intricate world of how others around them play a part in their journey. One-on-one training doesn’t happen nearly as much, and most of the time they are together with others. They have “sitters” for when they are unable to be around the dogs, and therefore there may be differences of opinion on how to train a dog. Some handlers may want to share their knowledge with others, while not everyone else may not be interested in hearing their expertise. Imagine what it would be like if you had to spend all day, every day, with 20 others who are training dogs-eat, sleep, train and play together. And then maybe you can imagine some of the daily struggles that might be encountered along the way.

During this journey, they have to learn to interact with the assistance dog in training that they are caring for, but they have to grow in learning how to interact with other inmates and handlers along the way as well. All of sudden, if they learn to trust the process, life transforms a bit and they have to see outside of themselves and work towards a goal together. And as important as “graduation day” is for all of us volunteers to see our dogs in training cross that stage, it takes on a much greater importance for these handlers. It may very well be the proudest moment of their lives, and you can feel their excitement about seeing the dog they trained on stage!

During the interviews, this is the part that impressed me most and more than once reduced me to tears. I listened to the handlers express their joys and their struggles, and they more than once talked emotionally about how it’s not easy, but it’s worth it because of their love for the dog in training. Some of them talked about how it used to be just about them and they never thought of anyone else before, and now they have to work to create a future for a dog so that they can change someone else’s life. And they admitted that it’s not always easy to make that leap from thinking only of themselves to putting someone else first, but it was obvious that were putting their best efforts into the process and that is truly inspiring. Maybe one of the many benefits of having a program like this is that the handlers get to let their guard down a bit-they get to share emotions, and they get to invest their heart.

It is often said, even by me, that this organization couldn’t be successful without the participation of the prison systems that are currently part of the program. But what is sometimes left unsaid is that it’s very likely that some of these handlers couldn’t be as successful in their journey to change and develop if it weren’t for the love of a dog. These very special, born for a purpose pups!

Thank you to everyone that has allowed me the opportunity to see into a part of the assistance dog world that not many get to see! It has changed my perspective, and it has given me a newfound appreciation for gifts that assistance dogs give to everyone along the way. They don’t just change and touch the lives of the clients they are placed with; they touch the lives and hearts of hundreds along the way-and those whom they touch will never be the same!

Liam and I having a conversation about his ‘star quality”!

I so loved having the opportunity to reconnect with the pups again!

Liam taking some time to enjoy a pool break during the 90+ degree late September day!