All About Blade

Things are going great!

2008-11-24T16:58:00.001-08:00

Life is changing for Blade. He's been working great with Marcus and I am very thankful Marcus has trained dogs in the past. This is a photo of Scott (left - the male part of the volunteer training family), Blade, and Marcus (new client).

Blade had his first overnight and it's very clear that he really watches out for Marcus. Blade doesn't like to be without him. He knows his job is to take care of Marcus and help him if he needs him. He takes his job very seriously. Blade has had a couple of training sessions with Marcus and I've been able to learn a few tricks from them. They are an awesome team!

Blade is now working with his client!

2008-11-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Blade has been matched up with a wonderful man named Marcus. He is an injured Iraqi vet whose been through several operations to help him retain the use of his legs. Blade will be a wonderful asset for Marcus and we are thrilled to be working with him. Here are some links if you'd like more information:

http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SGT_Marcus_Kuboy

Latest Update

2008-08-11T15:54:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. It's been awhile since our last update, but not a whole lot has changed. Blade has developed quite a nack for playing frisbee however. He absolutely loves to run and gets so excited that he has been known to make grass fly! Blade is still a big mush ball, and lays next to anyone that is sitting on the couch.

As far as his training goes, he has started to heel very well. He just needs to be reminded every once and awhile that he needs to walk near us. We have worked a little bit on "brace" and boy is he strong. Just by pushing on his shoulders you can feel his entire body tense up, which is a really good thing. The "watch me" command is going pretty good for him. It's funny when he starts chasing his tail, and you say "watch me" and he just stops and stares at you. The other parts of his training are going very well. Blade knows what he is supposed to do, it's just a matter of doing it consistently with him.

Well that's about all. Hope all of you are doing well and having a great summer!!

Latest Pictures

2008-04-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Finally, An Update!!

2008-04-26T08:11:00.001-07:00

Wow!!! A lot has happened since our last post. Sorry it has taken this long to get this blog updated! Nothing major has changed with Blade, but he has learned a lot of new stuff.

First of all, Blade passed his CGC on March 19 (aka, his birthday!). We were very proud of him.

Secondly, Blade's training is going very well. He is excellent at tugging open drawers, tugging off socks and jackets, etc. Blade can also nudge a drawer shut, but it takes him a little while to figure out what we are asking. Blade also does very well with retrieving stuff for us. He still picks up anything we ask him to. He does well with take it, but hold is another story! We are trying to work on heeling, but Blade hasn't quite grasped what it means. He does fine when we hold out treats in front of his nose, and tell him to heel but otherwise he wants to pull us. Leave it is one of his better commands, he always listens to us when we ask him to leave something. Its fun to put treats on his paws and tell him to leave it, and he just stares at them! Stay and wait are going well. When I feed him I always ask him to wait, and after a couple minutes I say OK.

Some of Blade's quirkier things he does include, sitting on the backside of a couch and then staring out the bay window. We think that he likes to think he is a smaller dog, because that is where our little cockapoo sits! He also has a fascination with chasing his tail. Blade has been doing this for quite awhile, and when he is wound up it is hilarious to watch him. In the nice weather we were having, we started playing catch with a ball and frisbee. He absolutely loves doing this, and its a great way to tire him out quickly!

Blade does very well in public. When someone asks to pet him, we make sure he sits while the person is petting him. It's a lot easier to keep control of him with him sitting. Lately he doesn't like sitting or laying down under a table. We try to get him to just relax and lay down, but he just comes right back up again. Any ideas of what to try would be helpful. He has gone pretty much everywhere with us, and does fine. Its just the heeling and relaxing that need a little bit of work.

Well, I think that is pretty much it. We are looking forward to seeing you all again, and hope everything is going well!

Latest Update!!

2007-12-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!!! Sorry, it has been quite awhile since my last update but that is only because it has been incredibly busy around here! Blade is doing very well, and is starting to learn new things. He has currently learned that snow is pretty cool! He loves to run in it and likes to eat the snow that he kicks up in the air. Its pretty entertaining to watch.

We have started to bring him to church (he has now been there 4 times) and does very well there. Except for the 1st 2 times he jumped up onto our seats. It's funny that at the end of church people come up to us and tell us they didn't realize there was dog at church until we walked up for communion! Otherwise he just lays on the nice cool ground sleeping.

One of his other field trips has been going to the Girls State Swim Meet at the U of M. Blade was lucky enough to meet two of the U of M coaches and get his picture taken with them.

In the other parts of his training, he is doing very well. With no problem at all he can pick up a coin, credit card, paper clip, etc. He also is learning to rise and touch the handicap button on doors. We are working on tug, and he is getting better. He doesn't like to use his strength to pull the drawer open. What he does is gently pull the string, making the drawer barely come out. He is also working on nudge. He loves doing this command, but I haven't figured out why!

Blade is constantly getting compliments on how handsome he is. He always draws a crowd of people wanting to know more, and pet him. It will not be to long until we have to tell people they can't pet him. That will be tough to do! For the most part they know they can't pet him, but are excited when we say it is ok because he is in the socialization stage.

It's amazing on how much of a cuddler he is. Especially when he is tired he will come and lay right by you and then lay all of his weight against you.

Well I guess that would be all for now, I'll try to get another update in after Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Blade at the Twins Game

2007-09-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

We recently took Blade to a Twins game and he was amazing. He sat still the whole time, and showed off a little bit for the people sitting around us. Blade also was able to meet TC and was very calm.

As far as his training goes he is doing very well on sit, down. and leave it. We have gotten to the point that we can put a treat on his nose, say leave it, and he will just sit and stare at it. We can also "drop" a treat and he will leave it.

Blade's Progress

2007-08-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Over the last month, Blade has gotten very big. These are recent pictures of Blade and I when we were cuddling. He is a great cuddler!
Besides the fact that Blade was able to completely cover my body, his training is going very well. I have been working with him to pick things up and he is doing amazing. He is able to pick up any coin, buisness card, paper clip, you name it and he will pick it up. He gets a little performance anxiety whenever we want to show someone however!!! He has mastered sit, and stay. Blade doesn't like to do downs, so we are working hard on that. The pulling that he had been doing on his leash has gotten a MILLION times better with the help of a Gentle Leader.

Update!!!

2007-06-23T12:53:00.001-07:00

Blade is growing by leaps and bounds. He recently went to the vet for shots, and weighed 25 pounds. He's huge compared to our dogs. He has gone on two camping trips with us, and has loved sleeping and playing with the dogs there.

As far as his training goes, he knows his name and also sit very well. When we go out we can hold up his vest and he will put it on. He somewhat knows down and leave it. He has gone to several restaurants, and knows exactly what to do when we get there. He does however like going for the crumbs on the floor.

That's about all for now!!!

2007-05-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

Blade is proud to work for AAD!!

Here are a couple more pictures of Blade. Pretty much all he does is sleep, but when he's awake he's very fun to watch. I also have added a photo album on the message board with more pictures of him. In almost all of them he is sleeping!!

Here's Blade!!!

2007-05-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well here's Blade! This is his first night at our house, and he already had found a place to sleep!

He is growing very fast, and is having fun bullying our dogs. He's been on several outings to restaurants, and has joined my dad to work a couple of times. He does very well in restaurants and falls asleep almost immediately. He's been with us for two weeks, and is now nine weeks old. We took him to the vet today to get his nine week shots. He weighed in at 14.5 pounds.

We are working on training him to sit, and kind of knows what it means.

By the way, I'm Megan and will be doing a lot of the updating.

Which one will be Blade???

2007-04-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

It does take time for these little puppies to develop their personality and strengths enough for us to see them. We'll be testing the boys a few times before a decision is made on which one will be Blade. We not only do temperment testing but also some testing to indicate possible strengths related to the skills needed in the job. The lucky boy in this family-of-four will have a lifetime of companionship. What dog woudn't want that? Aren't they adorable???

Service Dog Beginnings

2007-03-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered how a service dog begins its life? Just like any other beautiful dog.....this is Blade with his sister, two brothers, and mother.

Our Newest Soon-to-be Arrival

2007-03-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's a boy! Although we don't know which boy yet - he's going to be pretty special! Our newest volunteer trainer family "The Lings" will be training this little tyke for us - THANK YOU! We can't wait to post pictures of him in his little service dog coat!

A very special "Thank You!" goes to Sue and Steve Schnarr at Snowshoe Goldens in Inver Grove Heights for their generous donation.

Snowshoe Goldens

We'll keep you posted!