Monday, January 25, 2010

Puppy training at the Mall....


We met downstairs at the Mall in front of Macys.
Seven dogs and about 12-15 people showed up!
The yellow pup in this first picture is Josh, he came on the puppy truck with Dublin, not a litter mate though, all of Dublins litter start with a D. Only one from Dublins litter came with him and he is being raised in Portland, his name is Doug. Josh is a really pretty darker red puppy.

The point of taking them to the Mall was to expose them to open stairs and balconys and lots of people, the club leader even threw some kibble on the floor to walk them over, they are suposed to ignore it, only one tried to grab some, thats pretty good.

I gave Dublin to a new guy that wants to join the club, so that he could be worked by a stranger, both of them did good. I followed along and took pictures, I got quite a workout though, I usually dont do stairs because of my knees, and they walked fast! LOL


Dublin kept checking for Meghan and I, but he did mind Todd pretty well. We had to back off and follow from a greater distance, so he would listen to Todd better.  Isnt he cute in his little jacket.
Here we walked through JC Pennys.
Dublins first ride in an elevator, he really didnt care! He is a pretty mellow pup.


Back up the stairs at the other end of the Mall

Here we stopped by the food court. Dublin isnt in this picture, but while we were standing here a janitor brushed by him and a huge stroller with little kids went in front of him and lots of people, all he did was look and wag is tail a little, he is so good, it really would be a shame to have his teeth cause him to be career changed because he is so good, not much phases him when we are out. He does get a little excited before we go and wouldnt poop at home or outside the Mall, and dang it if after he relaxed on the walk if he didnt poop in the mall, I cleaned up fast and we went on our way. The club leader said and 6mo old he was still pretty little, and to not worry about it yet, but he has done this a few times now, but yes he has only been on the planet for 6 mos, so we will see how he does, I have to find his potty trigger before we go somewhere so we dont have these accidents. Having potty acccidents is something else that can have him career changed, they have to go only when they are told.

Here is Dublin and Todd, just before the stroller went in front and around them.

Back down some stairs, Todd was really good and patient with Dublin, occationaly he likes to rush stairs, and Todd waited until all the other pups were off of the staircase and then walked him down.

And close to the bottom, they did good, it was nice to take a pic from this angle, then I had to catch up! LOL

Then we met again with the rest of the group, we had split into two groups to walk the Mall, and talked for awhile, this is Dublin, and usually as excited as he gets, he watchs everything though, but he layed quiet and was a good good boy. The slick tile floors can be a challenge to for a dog, he either had to stand or lie down, or his front feet would slide and or he would scoot backwards LOL.

Here are a couple of the older black Lab pups, all the puppies were very well behaved and as usual with a group of Guide Dog puppies, if you didnt see them, you wouldnt know they were there.
So that was a training walk at the Mall, next month we are going on the MAX transit into Portland again, but on a Saturday, at one in the afternoon, not 7 at night in the dark and rain, it should be fun! I had better remember my camera!

6 comments:

  1. Poor little dude! hope he gets the hang of the potty thing .He looks like such a wonderful pup!

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  2. Wow, what a lot of work. I love labs, they are a wonderful breed of dog. I think the guide dogs are amazing, and I would love to work with one, I could just never part with it! Very cool that they train in the mall, that must make a good place for exposure to a lot of things! Dublin is a cutie, I hope he works out for this "career!"

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  3. Wow, he has gotten so big! He's looking almost grown-up now. :o) When you said he is mellow, my first thought was, "mellow yellow." As in, yellow lab. :o) Can't wait to see more of him, he is so cute!

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  4. What a very good boy! And he's getting soooo big! It seems that you're doing all the right things with him...I'm crossing my fingers that his teeth thing will right itself.

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  5. What a great training experience for all the puppies. I'm so impressed with how well behaved they all were in such a new place with all the smells, sights and scents, too.
    As you know, labs are one of those breeds that take a while to mature and they tend to be very energetic and easily distracted during their first two years.
    Those pups are all exceptional. wow!


    ~Lisa

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  6. I used to be a volunteer for Texas Hearing and Service Dogs - they use all shelter dogs.

    I'm impressed by how well behaved Dublin is! Six months is very young for labs (since they seem to be puppies until they are 5 years old!) and he's doing fantastic.

    On the poop thing : we do the tree training with ours. After 15 minutes of food and water, you take them out and stand with them in one spot until they poop or pee, then you reward them like crazy. We do the same thing when they come out of the crate, but I don't know if you're doing crate stuff (I need to read more!!).


    He is SOOOO adorable.

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