Sarasota Discovery Center Meeting

Saturday we had our monthly meeting in the SEGD Discovery Center in downtown Sarasota. We had the obedience part of the meeting first, then we spent the rest of the time mingling with the visitors to the Center, letting them love on our puppies and ask us about the whole puppy raiser experience.

Judy started out the meeting with a controversial move: she threw food on the ground! Well, not really. 8-) It was all part of her lesson involving getting the puppies to work on their food distractions. Evidently, getting distracted by crumbs on the floor, trying to vacuum them up, snarfing up after a meal or begging for food is one of the number one ways a puppy can get bounced from the guide dog program.

What's a puppy raiser to do? Why, train them to ignore food on the ground (Note to self: work in cafeteria more! 8-)

Here are some of the chicken treats that she placed on the ground:



As you can see by Jam's expression below, the chicken treats smell DE-LIGHTFUL! Even Annie thinks they are amazing.



Judy didn't stop with chicken, she added some other yummies as well. It was quite a pile of joyful goodness as evidenced by the lunging, drooling puppies in the background.



Jam remained at the ready to leap up and eat a pile when the word go was given. Unfortunately, that word was never given.



Judy did give the word for every raiser to try walking in a circle around the treats to see if their puppy could make without lunging.

Fred had the leash. I had the video camera. I have to say that Mick, our last puppy to go was quite...unusual. You have to wait for it. I guess somethings are more important than food.

Administrative Assistants World Tour or How to Stop Desk Jumping in Five Desks or Less

Desk jumping. It's as bad as it sounds. You walk up to the administrative assistant's desk to make an appointment with the headmaster, Bingo walking calmly at your side, when all of a sudden: BAM! Front feet are on top of the desk, files are toppling over, pens are shooting in myraid directions, glass geegaws are heading to destruction and Bingo has his head bent towards a plastic fuzzy haired doll.

"NO! LEAVE IT!" Internally, I am thinking, "Thank God all the geegaws didn't break! And Thank God she loves Bingo!" I give him a swift correction. Try to make him sit and also try to right a stack of falling file folders which results in more paper chaos than Bingo originally created. Meanwhile Bingo has crept nearer the spider plant off to the right of the desk and is angling his head to the tempting hanging leaf. The glint off his shiny nose reflects in my eye causing me to turn and avert a catastrophe (read: tiny plant stand and delicate plant with LIGHT BEIGE SUEDE GUEST CHAIR, yeah, wouldn't that look good with a big dirt paw print on it!?). I can feel my blood pressure creep up to the mild heart attack zone.

She asks me what I wanted. I look at her strangely. I'm not sure any more. I tell her I'll come back on Friday. And on Friday we will be prepared to train!


FRIDAY

We arrive at the headmaster's administrative assistant's desk. I explain to Bingo that this is a desk and it isn't for jumping up onto. See my outstretched hand that he is patiently waiting for me to move so he can jump and grab that fuzzy head? Well, I yanked him a correction right as he started his jump. HA! No files moved. No geegaws were in danger. Bingo was a little startled.

Uh. What just happened? This is where I patiently explain the concept of desk as equal to person: nonjumpupable. Do I detect a spark?

Not one attempt at the assistant headmaster's assistant's desk (try saying that out loud twice!). In fact, he seemed ready to leave. Bored with desks. The thrill was gone.

At the Dean of Student's desk he was so uninterested that he actually.....

just curled up and avoided the desk altogether. Upshot: Mission Accomplished!

Although Fred thinks I actually bored him out of wanting to jump on desks, I say, I'll take it whatever way it comes. No jumping, good for you Bingo!