Penny has Crossed the Rainbow Bridge
Penny is gone. 16h30 today.
The vet didn’t question us, thankfully we have a great relationship with them.
Penny was so stressed, when he took her to put the catheter in her leg she peed herself, so when she came back to me she was drenched. She was half on my lap when he started the injection, and then collapsed into my arms. She gave a few deep breaths but she didn’t make any noise.
We played fetch, she napped on the bed with me, she had a huge bowl of meat and yoghurt for breakfast, and chicken and waffles for lunch. I hope she had a fun day.
I hope she knows she was loved, as much as she drove us crazy.
We have asked them to return her ashes, but just in a little scatter box – the memorial options have gotten so expensive. 
I keep reminding myself of my latest conversation with Leigh, my go-to doggy health/behaviour person last weekend.
It was not the first time we discussed Penny, it was not the first time we discussed having Penny PTS, and she knew Penny. She loved Penny’s crazy, “cooked” brain, as she put it.
She reminded me how many times we’ve spoken about this, and the last time was about a year ago.
She reminded me what she had told me before – that Penny’s issues and anxiety can’t be “fixed” without spending thousands on meds and frequent, long term behaviourist sessions, and we don’t have the resources.
We’ve done as much as we can. And Leigh knows what we have done as a lot of it was with her help.
She also reminded me of something she warned me about, something that has played on my mind every day – that Penny’s issues would only worsen with age, which could make her dangerous. And as she starts to lose her senses like sight and hearing due to age, she is even more likely to be a dangerous. And if she hurt someone, we will not only be liable, we will also feel guilty because we were already concerned about it.
She also reminded me of a discussion we had a few years ago, about what Penny’s anxiety and excitement does to her brain and body. There’s a lot to it but essentially, because she can’t “come down”, she’s always on a knife edge in her head. The way she put it was that if Penny was a human, she would be heavily medicated just to function, or would self-medicate herself.
There was much crying, but her reminding me that its not just about us humans helped me a LOT.
A Year With Chuck
Chuck is now 14 months old, and he has been with us for a whole year!
The changes in how he handles his training are clear – he’s so grown up and focused.
He still loves nothing more than to cuddle on the floor with me, and he’s wonderfully affectionate and loving. A handling session on the floor will inevitably turn into a nap for Chuck. ❤
During lockdown, from late March to late June, we didn’t go anywhere at all, working on obedience, loose leash walking, and behavioural work at home, using puzzle toys, obstacle courses made of improvised items from in and around the house, and Zoom classes with our Puppy Raising Supervisor.
He knows all his obedience cues – SIT, DOWN, STOP, STAY, and STAND, and now that the lockdown restrictions have eased we have been able to start going out shopping and working in public places again. What the lockdown did affect is Chuck’s getting distracted by dogs and people, so we’re focusing on that now. People having to maintain a distance in the shops has helped with that! 🙂
Chuck had his 12 month x-rays at 13 months old (OP was also on a type of lockdown) and he has been cleared as healthy with no hip or elbow issues. I must be honest in that I was a little worried because he’s such a big chunky dog! He was also neutered just before the Christmas break, so physically, he is ready for training! He has now moved from the Vet’s Choice Large Breed kibble to a new sponsored food – Olympic, also for the larger dogs, and he’s looking amazing after GDA told me he had to lose at least three kilos. You woulda never said he was overweight to look at him, but I realised you had to push quite hard to find a rib when he was 44.6kg at 12 months old. 😛 He’s now 42.4kg at 14 months, with about 2kg to go.
GDA starts their dogs’ formal training at between 14 and 16 months old, so Chuck will have an “intake day” some time in the next weeks – but because of the Corona lockdown, all the usual schedules are a bit up in the air. 😛
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The Puppies Are All So Different
Each of the Guide Dog Puppies we’ve raised, as well as our own pet Lab, is very different from each other in personality and temperament, including their little mannerisms.
One of the ways these pups differ from each other, is how they ask to go outside for busies, and its something you don’t think of until you have to. 🙂
As our three cats are indoor cats and don’t go outside, our dogs don’t have free access to the garden as the house is closed up for the cats’ safety. This actually aids me in housetraining our pups, when they are babies I take them outside on a regular basis when they are awake (I set an alarm to go off every 30 minutes), as well as when they wake up, eat, and play, and in so doing they very quickly learn the “busy busy” cue. They also learn to tell me they need to go outside, and how they tell me is something I have to watch for.
Our first Guide Dog Puppy was Volt, and he was also my first puppy!
I know, right!? 😛
When Volt started asking to go outside, he would sit facing the door – looking over his shoulder every few seconds until he got my attention.
When our pet Lab Riddick joined our family, his signal was very different to Volt’s, BUT it hadn’t occurred to me to look for it! It took me a while to realise that when Riddick wanted to go outside, he would stand and look at me, wagging his tail a little and doing a rumbling bark if I didn’t notice. 😀
Lennox was our next pup, and I remembered that he might have a different signal to Volt and Riddick, so I was watching and waiting. He actually learned to scratch the door when he wanted to go out, this is very handy for a Puppy Raiser as well as for a visually impaired person! 🙂
Nimble also learned to scratch the door to let me know she wanted to go outside.
Patrick would rest his head on the bed or chair next to me, or on my knee to get my attention, which was very sweet!
Riggs didn’t learn the door scratching trick, he would go and stand at the door, looking at me until I noticed he wanted out.
Jake also stands at the door looking at me if he wants out, and if I don’t notice he’ll walk a figure of eight across the room and go back to the door. If he’s really desperate first thing in the morning, he gives a soft woof to wake me up.
Chuck does something like what Riddick did! He stands in front of me slowly wagging his tail and gazing at me, and if I don’t notice he will take a step back or forwards and bob his head as if he’s about to bark.
All the puppies have the same signal for wanting to go back inside though – they all head back to the door and wait for me to catch up before we head back inside! 😀
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Twenty Eight Weeks With Chuck #GDApupChuck
Chuck is 37 weeks old!
Last Friday, Chuck weighed 37.8kg, and he’s now quite comfortable with his weekly visit to our vet to get on the scale, walk around the vet’s reception, and – if there are no patients – check out the examination room.
Our weekly puppy classes with Chuck’s littermates are now complete, and our last open puppy class for 2019, with older GDA pups, was at a park, a nice relaxed walk around the perimeter and a free run for the dogs, which included splashing in some black mud! Our puppy classes with his litter mates included a trip on the Gautrain, a visit to Montecasino’s bird park, the Gardens of St Christopher, the Lipizzaners, gg’s Café, and classes at GDA.
On our own walks and outings we’ve visited a number of different shopping centres and malls, doctor’s rooms, the optometrist, gone shopping all over the place, and he confidently responds to SIT, DOWN, LET’S GO, DROP IT, TOUCH, and STAND, and we continue to work on LOOSE LEASH WALKING all the time.
Chuck LOVES going on an outing of any kind! He loves riding in the car, especially with a frozen water bottle or the aircon on full blast, typically going to sleep as soon as the car starts moving. 🙂
And just ‘coz he’s so gorgeous, here are some more pictures of our Chuck!
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Twelve Weeks With Chuck #GDApupChuck
Chuck is 21 weeks old!
Last Friday, Chuck weighed 26.3kg, and he’s getting very used to his weekly visit to our vet to get on the scale.
While we’re there, we walk around the vet’s reception, and if there are no patients yet we check out the examination room too. The sounds and smells at a vet can be very strange and frightening for a puppy, so visiting often with lots of treats and creating a positive association is important for a working dog.
Our last puppy class was at BVH – the pups had blood drawn to do titre tests, but they also practised being in close proximity to each other in the reception area. GDA pups frequently visit the vet as part of their socialisation, to give them a positive association with a place that smells and sounds scary, and strange. They get treats from the vet too, and when Chuck was done having blood drawn he asked the vet for more cookies, so he wasn’t bothered by the experience at all! 😀
Chuck confidently responds to SIT, DOWN, LET’S GO, DROP IT, TOUCH, and we’re working on STAND and LOOSE LEASH WALKING. We go on regular outings, and classes with his siblings include the GDA doggy obstacle course, spending time in GDA’s kennels, and just sitting watching cars and people go by.
Chuck’s baby canine teeth have fallen out, and his “big boy” canines are growing fast, but there’s nothing holding his tongue in place at the moment and his tongue lolls all over the place!
And just ‘coz he’s so gorgeous, here are some more pictures of our Chuck!
Chuck loves his food! He’s really easy to train, and he loves jumping into the car when we’re heading out and about!
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Sixty Weeks with Jake #GDApupJake
Jake is 15 months old, and he’s been in formal training for a month.
He’s so grown up and mature.
We got our first email from his trainer! Jake loves his trainer, and I think if we gave him the choice he’d choose to stay at school with him rather than come home on weekends! Here’s a snippet:
“This month has been a blast with Jake. He is a big boy that is full of love and cuddles… we focused on obedience and an introduction to Autism Support Dog work. He is a very clever boy! He absolutely loved the outings we have done… Parkhurst, Mall of Africa, Parkview, Zoo Lake, Rosebank, The Randburg Clinic School for Autism…”
So proud of our boy! 
When Jake is home with us on weekends, he still goes on the occasional outing with me, or attends a GDA event with us, but he’s not expected to do any training and he can spend his weekends playing and napping.
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Fifty Six Weeks with Jake #GDApupJake
Wow! Time really flies!
Jake is 14 months old, he has started his formal training.
Intake Day – the day he started “varsity” – was July 23rd. We got to meet and talk to his trainer about raising him and his personality, and his quirks and favourite things, and seeing how excited Jake’s trainer was to start working with him was so heartwarming! During his formal training we will get updates from his trainer about how he is progressing, and he gets to come home on weekends.
The Intake Day email is a strange one for a Puppy Raiser to receive… On the one hand you’re sad because your pup will be leaving, and you’re a little nervous about whether you did enough with your puppy while raising him. And on the other hand you’re excited about the next step in your puppy’s training, and you’re wondering how he’s going to do, and who he will eventually be matched with.
Puppy Raisers walk a strange tightrope, loving their puppy and working hard to be able to say goodbye. We’re very goal-oriented, we know that as much as we love our puppy, someone else needs our puppy. Someone is waiting for our puppy.
And Jake was ready for his training! We couldn’t keep him busy enough as Puppy Raisers anymore, and he loves to be busy. He’s loving his training too – I think he would choose to stay “at school” with his trainer if he was given the option!
And since the end of June, Jake has had Labrador company at home in the form of a GDA puppy named Chuck! Chuck came to us when he was 9 weeks old, and the two of them have played all day every day, both of them loving the fact that they have a playmate that “speaks” Labrador!
Having Jake here was a big help for the puppy to learn to busy outside, and wait for his food, they learn a lot from copying each other.
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Meet Guide Dog Puppy Chuck #GDApupChuck
Chuck was born on Friday 26 April 2019 to mom Zebula and dad Vito (AI, USA stud dog). He’s a yellow Labrador with six “C” litter siblings – 4 yellow brothers, 1 yellow sister, and 2 black sisters.
We fetched him from GDA on Thursday 27 June 2019 when he was 9 weeks old, and we named him after the “Chuck Bartowski” character of the TV show “Chuck”, played by Zachary Levi – continuing our trend to try and name our pups after movie or TV characters 🙂
At 10 weeks old, Chuck weighed a whopping 10.4kg – by far our biggest puppy ever! He has huge feet and long ears, the tips of which are always dirty because they hang in his food and water bowls! 😛
Baby Chuck has slept through for 2 nights now, 10pm to about 5am, and thats pretty cool! He is sleeping in a dog bed next to me, as his “big brother” Jake is still sleeping in the crate, and most mornings he goes back to sleep for an hour after having a busy!
He already knows SIT, he’s quickly learning DROP IT, and we’re working on DOWN. He goes to the door to ask to go outside, he’s learning to sit quietly in order to be given his food bowl at meal times, and he LOVES his food, which makes him really easy to train!
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Forty Eight Weeks with Jake #GDApupJake
Wow! Time really flies! Tomorrow our Jake is 13 months old!
Big and beautiful, with caramel-coloured fur, and pale “wings”, he tipped the scales at 38.3kg when he had his vaccinations last week.
Our weekly Puppy Classes are completed, but we have regular one-on-one sessions with our GDA Puppy Raising Supervisor. We continue to practise loose leash walking and our obedience cues, and Jake goes everywhere with me as much as possible. And we do distraction work with food, toys, people, and dogs, teaching our pups to focus on us and ignore what is going on around them.
He walks so beautifully on lead when we are out shopping. He ignores people walking by us or standing around us, and even manages to ignore people calling out to him or making eye contact with him. He is unconcerned when children come up and greet him, and more and more he’s looking to me when he gets distracted by something.
Pleeeeeease – if you see a working dog, or a pup-in-training – or ANY dog for that matter, PLEASE ignore them! Speak to the person holding the lead, and ask before you touch or talk to them!
On one of our many outings, our handsome Jake visited a nursery school with the “W” litter puppies. Visiting schools is partly to teach children about Guide Dogs, and partly an instructional outing for our pups – to see children of different ages and in different settings. With regular positive interaction, our pups learn that children are nothing to be excited about, or feared.
Jake has a new toy, and it has quickly become a favourite! Its an Kong Extreme XX-Large, and when we are planning an outing I fill it with a mixture of treats, kibble, tinned meat, and then freeze it, giving it to chew on when we reach our destination. It not only keeps him busy, it rewards him for staying calm and quiet at the same time.
He still loves to be close to me and loves to snuggle, squishing himself under the desk if I am working on my laptop.
This lovely picture of our Jake was taken by Brent Lindeque at a GDA activation.
The #WatchMeGrow bear that I used for Jake’s weekly photograph has become a toy, but I only give it to him to play with once in a blue moon. He’s been surprisingly gentle with it, and he loves to lie on his back holding the bear with his front paws and chewing on it! Its so comical!
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Forty Four Weeks with #GDApupJake
Our gorgeous Jake is one year old today!
We can hardly believe so much time has gone by so fast!
Big and beautiful, with caramel-coloured fur and pale “wings”, he tips the scales at 37.7kg.
Our weekly Puppy Classes are completed, but we still have optional open classes with a GDA Puppy Raising Supervisor, where several other pups of mixed ages attend, and sometimes we have one-on-one sessions with our Supervisor. We continue to practise loose leash walking and obedience cues, and we do distraction work with food, toys, people, and dogs, teaching our pups to focus on us and ignore what is going on around them.
It still takes Jake a few minutes to settle into a “work mode”, but he is now able to work in close proximity to a number of other pups, without Jake lunging to greet or try to play with them.
He walks so beautifully on lead when we are out shopping. He ignores people walking by us or standing around us, and even manages to ignore people calling out to him or making eye contact with him. He is unconcerned when children come up and greet him, and more and more he’s looking to me when he gets distracted by something.
Pleeeeeease – if you see a working dog, or a pup-in-training – or ANY dog for that matter, PLEASE ignore them! Speak to the person holding the lead and ask before you touch or talk to them!
Our handsome Jake attended a GDA PR function at a school, where one of GDA’s brood bitches was a part of a performance of Annie!
Jake has never been a fan of too much sunshine, and if he’s in to sun too much in the car, he’ll climb under the doggy hammock! And he loves looking out the window while we drive. 😀
He has matured so much in the last few months, but one of his favourite things to do is bring a big stick into the house to chew on and play with!
He still loves to be close to me and loves to snuggle, squishing himself under the desk if I am working on my laptop.
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