Dock Diving

Being without a foster puppy has afforded me the time to do other things with my own pet dogs. This past weekend Fortune and I headed to the International Food Festival in London Ontario to compete in the Dock Dogs Event. We tried this sport a couple years ago and Fortune did quite well but life became busy with some interesting, or rather "challenging" pups so we haven't had an opportunity to hit the docks again.

Fortune entered one Wave on Saturday and jumped 8' 10" and 9' 8" to earn her the top Novice dog in that Wave. Most dogs run the full 40 foot dock before leaping into the water but since we haven't really had any practice I thought it best to have Fortune jump from the edge and then work our way back as she (and I) gained more confidence. We learned at the end of the day that Fortune's jump of 9' 8" was the highest of all novice dogs (those who jump less than 10 feet) and meant that she would make it to the finals on Sunday. I hadn't planned on attending a second day, but figured we'd give it a shot and see what happened.

On Sunday we didn't take any practice jumps so Fortune was wired when it was finally her turn to jump. I moved her back about 5 feet from the edge of the dock and let her go.

She launched herself 11' 8" and secured the Novice Division! She will move up at least one level, if not two, when we compete again in July since I am convinced she will be running the full dock in no time. As a handler I am holding her back from accomplishing what she is truly capable of so it's time to let her show her stuff. She's the confident member of the team LOL

Career Changed

Nugget has always been a sensitive and somewhat timid Golden. We all hoped (and thought) he would become more confident as time progressed but the opposite has happened. He is getting worse instead of better. A broom falling to the floor sends him high tailing to the furthest room with his tail tucked, the roar of a motorcycle causes instant anxiety and a trip to the mall is just too much for him to handle so he has been released from the program to live life as a much loved family pet.

I am saddened that he wasn't suitable for the program because he is a great (but slightly neurotic) dog, however, I am thrilled to be able to keep him with the pack he has grown up with.

The 'Fostering Hat' has been hung up indefinitely and the No Vacancy sign has been place out front.
This house has truly Gone To The Dogs!!!

This Week's Adventure

We're puppysitting at the cottage this week. We have Frites, Java, Fortune and three ADS pups in training... Benson, Bella and Nugget. Benson and Bella are siblings but don't look anything alike. Benson is big for 5 mos.....more like huge....very stocky and solid, whereas Bella is petite and delicate in appearance. I've been trying to get pics of the two together but it hasn't been that easy. All are getting along ok and spend most of the day playing outside. Nugget is keeping up just fine with everyobdy. He's such a good little guy.

Journey Update

It was determined that Journey just wasn't cut out to be a Service Dog so she was disqualified a few weeks ago. She is now living out in the country with no close neighbours, a forest full of trees to chew, and a lake to swim in whenever she wants. The young lad who adopted her is an avid hunter and his family has a hunting camp on the shores of Lake St Clair. Journey, who was a very late starter in the sport of duck hunting, is proving to be quite the natural. On her first outing she retrieved 4/8 ducks. Way to go, girl.... you're exactly where you belong!!

Introducing Nugget

Nugget, another foster puppy from Autism Dog Services, is a purebred Golden Retriever who will be joining the pack shortly. Can't wait to get the little guy home!!!

Highland Games

We had a puppy outing to the Highland Games this past weekend. The weather wasn't exactly the best but we managed to find some shelter to wait out the storm that passed through the area. I think Gunner, a 14 month old Choc Lab, enjoyed the rain showers the most. He was quite comical as he continually tried the catch the water that was being dumped off the awning we were standing under. He was soaked but he sure looked happy....and guilty!

Autism Awareness GeoCoin

I was out Geocaching the other day and came across a really neat GeoCoin in one of the caches. I checked the tracking page for the coin and discovered its goal is to educate people about Asperger's Syndrome and that it had started out in Florida this past December. Naturally I had to take a few pictures of the coin with Journey, an Autism Dog Services Puppy In Training and post them for the coin owner on the tracking page.The other neat thing is that I was Geocaching with a person who has Autism and she was the one who found the cache!
We'll move the coin along shortly....after we've had a chance to show it off to some friends. If you're a Geocacher, keep an eye out for this really cool, colourful coin.