Long-Dangerous Tails

What I did on Summer vacation and this Fall…

Sorry I have sent any updates, we got home from Alaska and then school started-time has flown by again! Kodiak is doing very well, with his socialization and obedience training. He is scheduled to return to Leader Dog on November 22nd to start his formal training in harness. He was a great traveler this summer when we flew to Alaska. While we were there he went with us on the Alaskan Railroad to Denali National Park and took a bus tour to see the park. We went to a museum at the University of Alaska where Kodiak saw a huge Grizzly Bear. He also took a ride on a Riverboat tour, and went with us to Valdez to see some of countryside. We also stopped at a park and botanical garden in Fairbanks that shows how many of the pioneers lived 100 years ago. It was a great trip!

Since we got home we had a couple of training days up in Peoria, IL in September we rode another Riverboat and then had a great dinner at a restaurant on the river. Then this month was at the Pekin Fire Station which I think is one of the most important training days for our puppies. The fire men help us by crawling on the floor and playing with the puppies-they start out without any of their gear on. Then they put on their boots, and fire suit and let the puppies sniff the leather and smell their gloves. Next they put on the respirator and talk to the pups, so they hear the “Darth Vader” voice and the loud beep from the alarm on the tanks when the fireman doesn’t move around. Finally they put on the helmets-by this stage the puppies are all very relaxed and happy to play some more! We have a puppy that is now a Leader Dog that saved his partner, by leading the firemen to his partner, which is why we feel this is so important.

One of the firemen fell in love with Kodiak, he lost his 12 year old Shepherd this past Spring. After playing  with Kodi for about an hour, he asked me what will happen if he doesn’t graduate. I told him the chances of that happening are slim to none-he has incredible stamina, and learns very quickly. He has a such and easy going, friendly temperament, and plays so well with other dogs that I know he won’t fight. Even with our Springer who is the queen of the Bedard Yard-he always let’s her have her way. But, if something strange should happen, and Kodiak comes back to me-I promised to call the Pekin Firehouse and arrange for Kodiak to live with him. You can see him hugging Kodiak in the picture in front of the fire truck.

Julie,

We have been on the go, so much that time has flown by. Kodiak has been growing like a weed! He will be seven months old on 6/12! When I was at Petsmart last week I had him step up on the scale–he weighs 61.2 lbs now! I am so glad he is eager to please, he walks well in a nice loose leash heel position and loves to work for his Pupcorn treats! He has more tan on his chest and legs now, and the ears are up to stay–every where we go I get comments from people about how beautiful he is.

He loves to play with our 9 month old Springer Spaniel, Chloe as you can see from the pictures I sent. If he can’t get a good grip on the toy they are playing with she will take off with it so he rarely let’s her win! He is definitely an all-weather dog he doesn’t mind the snow or sunshine. We did notice he will go find the shade when he gets to warm.

Kodiak is part camel–we put a wading pool in the back yard for the puppies to play in and cool down in our hot humid weather. He loves to try digging to the bottom of the pool and drinks as he splashes. I definitely want to get a picture of that! If I can remember to grab a camera.

Craig sent pictures of Kodiak getting a belly rub from Scooby Do and a picture of him with Arnold at King’s Island Amusement Park. He also sent a picture of us after we finished a MS Walk in Springfield, IL. We are flying to Alaska next weekend for a four week vacation! Kodiak will be traveling with us, we will have lots of pictures for you in August!

Marcia, Craig, and FLD Kodiak

Ann,

I am by no means an expert–but I have learned a lot about training puppies, and will gladly share what I have learned. For example, since puppies have short attention spans–keep the training sessions short. Make it fun–lots of praise, use that silly “puppy talk” voice, and I use a lot of Pupcorn for treats. To teach “leave it” you have to watch the puppy’s body language and anticipate when they are going to go after something–like an inflated football. Then praise them when they look to you, and give them an alternative behavior like stay or come.

I taught Kodi leave it on a Sunday morning walk, everytime we came to a driveway with a newspaper in a driveway I gave him the command just before he started to sniff the paper. By the 4th or 5th paper he walked by without even looking at it and I praised him saying “Good leave it.” Give it a try see if it works for you. I will be anxious to hear how it goes.

Marcia and FLD Kodiak

Kodiak had a fun and productive training week–with two great outings. He went to a local middle school on Tuesday, to participate in their Health Fair. We arrived early so that I could set up a lap top with my Leader Dog for the Blind power point slides, along with pictures of the puppies we have raised. I placed Kodi’s bed under the table with several of his favorite Nyla Bone toys–we were all set to talk to the students, Kodi was ready for lots of loving, and of course to hundreds of questions about raising puppies and Leader Dog training.

It was about this time that I noticed the display next to us included a basketball goal and an inflated football player with a net to catch the inflated footballs. I thought this is going to make this a very long training day.

But, Kodi surprised me–when the balls started flying he was watching them intently. One of them landed about 3-4 feet from him and I could see he was about to go after it. I said, “Kodi, leave it.” and when he looked at me I said “Good boy, sit” as soon as he sat I gave him a treat and lots of loving. Then I had him lay on his bed, kids started arriving and of course the girls “oohhhed and awwwwed” over him. They were rubbing his ears, he is smart enough to know this attention was one hundred times better than chasing after balls. By the third hour, he needed to go outside, and when we came back in I could see he was very sleepy. So I explained to the students that he needed some nap time. He slept the rest of the afternoon–with kids running around, balls flying all around (some even landed on his bed!), and all the noise of over 100 young teens in the gym! What great socialization training!

Yesterday we went to the airport to let the puppies experience being around the baggage carousels, and going through airport security. He went through all of it with no problems. This was also training for the TSA security as well. The lady that worked with us was afraid of dogs, so he helped her with her anxiety issues as well.

Just wanted to tell you about Kodiak’s first puppy outing in Springfield, IL. We visited the Mill Creek Alzheimer Center, the residents really enjoyed petting the puppies and telling us about their dogs. Kodiak loved all the attention and was the center of attention for most of the afternoon.

He got lots of compliments about his soft furry coat and good manners. I must confess there was
a little secret they did not know–so I can’t take all the credit for his good behavior. Springfield is about a ninety minute drive and he was awake since
about 8:30 in the morning. We arrived at the Center at 2:00–and is was very warm in the Center, so he was ready for an afternoon nap.

As you can see from
the group picture we had several puppies there

The tiny yellow lab is about one week younger than Kodiak. Her name is Lindy. The big yellow lab is Gabe, he is 11 months old and will be going back to Leader Dog in March. The Golden is named Bradford he is 7 months old. The two black labs are Purcell, 10 months, and Sterling, 7 months.

After our visit at
the Center, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for dinner. You would not have known
our puppies were there–all six were sleeping under the table before we had
placed our orders. We had a really fun day.

Hope you enjoy the
pictures–next month we will be going to Peoria Airport. It will be a training
day for the puppies and for the TSA security personnel as
well.

Marcia and FLD
Kodiak