No more puppy fuzz

Now that OMSI is six months old and an adolescent, I figured it was time that he looked more like a "cool" teenager. So, I trimmed the fuzz off his ears. Here's before and after pictures. It's amazing how much smaller his ears look! He definitely did not inherit Blaze's huge dumbo ears! Fuzzy ears are so cute on little puppies, but I love the sleek, trimmed look of a groomed Golden Retriever. So from now on our weekly grooming session will include trimming OMSI's ears as well as his nails and feet and brushing his coat and teeth.

Blaze's puppies

I heard from Linda (Blaze's BC) today and it sounds like Blaze is "on hold" for a while until the puppies he's sired turn-in for advanced training and are evaluated. I'm guessing that his puppies will start to turn-in this August or November, depending on the region they're being raised in. Blaze has sired 33 puppies, 18 boys and 15 girls, in 6 litters (although in some of those litters, some of the pups are Blaze's and some are sired by another dog). Seven puppies are full Golden Retrievers, and the rest are Golden retriever/labrador retriever crosses of varying percentages. So, here's the rundown on his puppies:

Born 4/1/06 with Kyan: Acron, Anjou, Arima, Arkin
Born 5/9/06 with Adah: Rane, Risa, Riva, Runner, Rob, Ruthie
Born 5/16/06 with Afton: Valor, Vander, Viggo, Violet, Vickers, Vienna, Vello, Varden, Vanessa
Born 6/16/06 with Ryla: Wynona
Born 7/15/06 with Chandra (GLD): Omari, Ontaro, OMSI, Ojala, Omya, Oasis, Omeeka
Born 9/5/06 with Ravi: Cyndal, Corinda, Collier, Conover, Collin, Clayton

I'll try to find some pictures of some of his puppies (besides OMSI) and post them.

Fencing

After church today OMSI and I went to watch my sister compete in a fencing tournament in Seattle. All of my puppies have gone to the fencing club at least a couple of times while I have them, either when I got to visit or with Hannah. This was the first time that I've had a chance to take OMSI there. When we first walked in the mixed (men & women) foil competition was going on which is a popular event so almost all the strips were being used and there was a lot of noise and commotion (the clash of metal, feet stomping and sliding on the floor, an occasional shout). The walkway goes down the center of the building and I stopped to talk to Hannah, so there was fencers on both sides. OMSI was nervous at first and kept spinning around to look whenever there was a burst of activity. But, after sitting and watching for a few minutes, he wasn't so reactive to the sounds. After being there for 3 hours, he barely noticed. By the end, the action died down as the epee competition started (which is smaller). I think he decided that he likes fencing since there are LOTS of people who came up and asked to pet him. Even if I was watching and didn't realize that someone had started petting him, he was very good about remaining calm and placing himself in a sit if he wasn't already in that position. He also got to meet people in fencing masks and still when right up to them to say hi when they asked to pet him. It was a great experience for him and I think he did really well!!

Baja News

I got an email today from the National Breeding and Puppy Program Manager at CCI that said,

"Baja has met our standards in health and temperament will be placed as a breeder".

Yay!!!! So, Baja has been taken out of training and will be placed with a breeder-caretaker family who lives within 90 miles of Santa Rosa, CA. He will pretty much be a pet, and will be taken to CCI whenever they need his services. He will be bred about 5 times (they try to get 40 puppies from the new breeder boys) and then put on "hold" until those puppies turn-in for advanced training. Once they determine how successful his puppies are, they will either begin to breed him again or retire him. While I am sad that Baja will not be a service dog for someone, I am excited that he can pass on his wonderful temperament to the next generation of CCI dogs. I was also told that Baja had his first "date" today! However, he was bred as a back-up for another stud, so the puppies may not be his. I will post again as I get more news!

Weekend in Forks

OMSI took a weekend trip to Forks with my sister and mom to visit a friend. During the ferry ride across Puget Sound they discovered that he gets seasick :-( Fortunately, on the ride home they had smoother sailing and he was fine. My sister reported that he had very good house manners at our friend's house, although he decided to invite himself up on the sleeper sofa my sister was on (only once, though). He got to go to the grocery store (first time!) and walk around the town of Forks. He also met a Peacock! Hannah said that he was very interested in it, but was able to look away and listen when she asked. My little boy is growing up!

Baja's first report!!!!

I got Baja's first report from Advanced Training today!!!!! He's doing very well!!! It's one of the best reports I've gotten from a dog in advanced training, although I haven't gotten all that many (1 from Pasha, 5 from Jaba, 1 from Blaze, and now 1 from Baja). Here's a summary:

Baja's trainer is named Andrea Woodcock (which is a different trainer than was listed on the letter I got two weeks after he turned-in), and he's still a potential breeder (I should find out this month if he's selected as a breeder or not). He is in good health.

The training commands he's been working on are his basic commands that I started with him (Heel, Side, and Under are specifically listed), the Retrieve sequence (Get/Hold), and Push. All these commands are being worked with his trainer ambulatory (instead of in a wheelchair).

Baja has no "undesirable" behaviors checked off, which is really good! I was expecting a couple, like hackling (he would do this during playtime ever since he was a puppy) and marking (he is still intact, after all), and possibly rough play with other dogs. But, it looks like Baja is on his best behavior! Baja also has all of the "desirable" behaviors checked off, such as allowing cradling/handling/grooming (Baja was always good about this), being attentive and calm, interacting appropriately with other dogs and people, walking nicely on leash and seeking direction, and being willing. The comments his trainer lists are fairly generic, but positive: "Baja is doing well in Advanced Training. He is very willing to try new behaviors and learns them quickly. He interacts very well with the other dogs in community run."

Baja has been on an evaluation field trip to Western Farm feed store. His overall performance lists low fear responses, low distractibility, low energy, and high training responses including motivation, correction, and learning rate. Yay!!