Wilderness Rescue Training

Today I headed down and met up with Megan and Gabby for some practice in wilderness searches.  When first training a 'air scent' dog we do something called 'runaways'.  These are short, easy sessions in which a victim runs away with the dog's toy.  This is all done in sight of the dog, and at first is very simple.  The idea is to get the dog to want to find their toy, and in doing so also find the person.  As they progress they start to associate the toy with the scent of a person.

Gradually runaways get harder and harder, forcing the dog to rely more on scent than sight.  Today we did a couple simple runaways and then progressed to more difficult searches.  Hugo is being trained to do a 're-find'.  This means that when he locates a person he will come back to his handler and give an alert.  In his case this is a bark alert.  When he barks at me I then give him the "show me" command and he will lead me back to the victim.  This is very important when searching large areas where the dog may range far ahead or be out of sight due to thick vegetation.

Hugo was doing very nicely with his re-finds with only a little prompting from myself.  We also did a blind search where he did not watch the person run away: but he still found them!  While we are working in very small areas right now, Hugo is learning important skills that will later be put to the test when searching large areas.  What a fun activity that will hopefully lead to a very important job!

At the end of the training session I got to do lunch with Gabby, Megan and Paris!  Such a treat especially when Paris heads off for formal training in less than a week.  All in all it was a great day!

Cadaver Scent Imprinting

About 6 weeks ago I started training Hugo in search and rescue.  Tom and I are both partnering on this training adventure, and both of us will hopefully be certified to work Hugo in different capacities.  Right now I am doing the bulk of the cadaver work while Tom is focusing more on wilderness, with a plan to shift to avalanche once the season starts.  However we both attend training sessions and are learning to work with Hugo in every capacity.

Today we went and worked on a pigeon hole board.  This is a long sheet of plywood with evenly spaced round holes cut into it. There is a top row, middle row, and bottom row.  Behind the holes are short plastic tubes that are open both in the front and the back. The idea here is to bring a dog who has been exposed to cadaver scent and start teaching him that the reward comes from the source.  This is to create both a reliable alert and a loyalty to their find.  In wilderness training the same principle is applied, but with a live victim it is easier to have their reward waiting for them.

Once the dog understands the principle behind looking for the scent, a helper will move the source and place it in a different hole each round.  The handler will stand back and give the dog their search command.  Once the dog starts searching it is the helpers job to keep the dog focused on the search and to reward the dog from inside the hole once they alert on the scent.  Hugo's alert is a down at the source. Today was only his second time working the pigeon hole board and he was already figuring out his alert!

After a couple successful rounds on the board we took him out into a more natural setting where a source had been placed in a tree low to the ground.  It was a very easy set-up, but a very big step for Hugo.  This was the moment where we would see if he had truly learned the unique scent and would seek it out.  After giving him the search command we waited anxiously as he started to sniff the area.  He was working pretty fast when he caught the scent as he went past the tree.  His head snapped around and he went right to the source!!!  We were very excited and praised Hugo.  He did not give an automatic down, but for the first search in a new area he was awesome!  We will continue to work on his alerts and search.  One of the evaluators said we could possibly test Hugo in his Cadaver 1 certification this fall as well as in Wilderness, with an avalanche certification following early winter.

Can't wait to continue working with Hugo and watching his quick progress!

Daily Blogging, Round 2

Well, May looks to be an eventful month.  One I am going to attempt to cover with daily blog posts.  Highlights to include: a recap of tonight's bowling send-off party for Paris and Jackson, coverage of two new puppies to Summit Guide Dogs, Marley's prep for Splash! Dogs, and Hugo's trip to Yellowstone for Search and rescue training.  Today's will be short but oh so sweet.

October-April

From October through the end of April: Rafferty has grown so much, both Marley and Hugo got their therapy dog certifications, and Hugo has started search and rescue training. Dante hibernated and is now ready for warm weather! Rafferty has been a great puppy and in less than two weeks he will have a younger 'brother' or 'sister' to mentor. I am once again starting a puppy for the high school raising program. We are going to have one busy summer...Rafferty continues to mature, Hugo works on wilderness/cadaver search training, Marley gets started on therapy work (and hopefully Splash dogs!), and a new puppy from Guide Dogs for the Blind joins into the mix.

Spring Time in the Mountains...

Things have been a little crazy around here lately. We had the biggest storm of the season over the past weekend and the dogs enjoyed the snow. I, however, did not enjoy snowblowing the driveway. Though I did get in some pretty amazing powder skiing on April 1st (no joke!). On Tuesday Rafferty got to show off his snow skills by plowing through powder and then knocking me over while I attempted to capture his snow frenzy on camera. Our Paw It Forward package arrived from Natalie and Bob yesterday and the Marley and Hugo had a lot of fun playing with their new throw toy while Rafferty bounded along behind. They were rather irritated when I made them sit and pose for the picture rather than letting them have all of the new treats.

All that powder "skiing" makes for some tired pups at the end of the day.

Leave a comment with the word "Spring" if you would like to particiapte in the Paw it Forward! First 3 will get a gift from the Pack!

Graduation

Friday morning we left bright and early. The car was packed, the dogs were fed, and it was time to leave. We dropped Marley off at my parents house and started on our trip. We were about 30min in when I realized I had forgot my phone! So we backtracked, grabbed my phone, and re-started the trip. We drove through northern Utah, the bottom part of Idaho, and across Oregon. We battled tumbleweeds, drove past many farms, and marveled at the drive through the Columbia River Gorge (getting very excited for rafting and kayaking this summer in the process!). After about 12.5 hours, the last 2 of which were spent in pouring rain, we arrived at the hotel. Exhausted and excited, we went to sleep early.

Saturday morning I woke up early, excited for the day ahead. After a quick breakfast and park session for Rafferty and Hugo we drove to downtown Portland to checkout the sights. We drove around looking at all the cool bridges and finally found a market along the river's edge. It was the Portland Saturday Market. We walked along enjoying the gorgeous morning and looking at the city in general. I grabbed an awesome crepe with Marion Berries while we both ogled the Rogue Brewery booth.



Next we set out to head to Boring and the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus. We arrived right at 11:30 and headed down to the kennel kitchen to check in Rafferty. Next we met up with other raisers in the visitors center and prepared to head over to the dorms to meet our puppies and their new handlers! There were 6 dogs graduating, and with 4 of the raisers being local, there were some larger groups waiting for their reunion. We settled in a corner and waited for Millie and Mike to appear. Other guides walked by, and many happy reunions occurred.

Finally Millie appeared with Mike and an instructor walking down the hall. For this first reunion they have the graduates heel the guide dogs without a harness as they know how excited the dogs will be when seeing their raisers. When Mike reached us I had just enough time for a handshake and "Mike, I am Sarah" before Millie went wild! She was so cute: wiggling, jumping, sniffing, and licking all in a burst of excitement. I sat on the floor for a couple of minutes loving on her. Then she went over to Tom and had another excited reunion. Afterwards we sat down with Mike and just got to know him. Millie is his 6th guide dog over the last 3 decades. He seemed very happy with her, and she with him.






Millie was on a different collar than the other dogs graduating. She only had a martingale because she was just so easy to handle. This is perfect for Mike as he has some other health issues that would not work well with a very strong dog. He kept describing walking with Millie as "taking a relaxing walk in the park." We did formal pictures and then I was left alone with Millie before the actual graduation ceremony. We hung out in a small room with the other raisers and guides while we waited for our chance to go on stage and present our pups. I don't actually remember all that I said. Something about how we always hear about how great of a match GDB makes, and just how amazing it is to see with a pup you had raised. I also joked about people asking me why I was driving 13 hours for a dog graduation and my response that is was not just any dog...it was Millie!

After graduation we hung out and chatted a little more with Mike. I gave Millie her presents (a sterilized bone, Nylabone, and Kong with peanut butter stuffin), and exchanged phones numbers and addresses with Mike so I could send a completed photo album later on. Mike lives just about 2 hours from campus, and by this time his son in-law had arrived to pick him up. We said our final goodbyes, snapped a couple of pictures, and watched Millie walk away.

Afterwards we went down to the kennel kitchen to pick up Rafferty. There I met Martha and Kristin, her current puppy. After chatting and getting the customary picture of the board we headed back to the gift shop, where I met the couple who had volunteered and driven down to pick up Millie and the other "recalled" dogs back in October. Finally, all good-byes said, we headed back into Portland.

There we had a great dinner at the Rogue Brewery public house. We loved the growlers you could buy (they had a lab on them!). Then it was time to go back to the hotel and sleep so we could make the long drive back the next day. Graduation was such an amazing experience...I would not have missed it for the world!!!

In Class!

Thats right, Millie is in Class with her new person. She is in a two week class with her future partner. She is set to graduate next Saturday. Now, something can always happen, but right now she is with her person and in the final stretch to becoming a Guide Dog! I am working to figure out how I will get there...either fly or drive. My first graduate, I am so excited! What do you do when you find out your pup is in class?