Back to normal

I think I can safely say I have recovered from the concussion. I had a last dizzy spell on Tuesday while driving to a Portland meeting, but nothing since then. The concussion was never serious, just postconcussive symptoms that were annoying for much longer than I wanted them to be.

Since I last wrote, Ardella has grown (surprise, surprise!). She's gotten taller and has filled out a bit all over. Here she is sitting on her tie-down mat. That forked toy is a sterilized deer antler which is equivalent to those sterile bones guide dogs are allowed to play with. I buy them at Everything in the Ark.

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And here she is standing. That ball is a Jolly Ball and is the best.toy.ever next to orange juice containers.



Developmentally, Ardella was a bit of a challenge starting around 12 weeks. She was developmentally appropriate, but it's a stage where puppies start having purposeful play to establish and fight for the alpha position. We had some snapping and hard biting while doing daily handling (checking paws, teeth, ears, etc.) Fortunately, I got some help at puppy class and one of the leaders is going to come to our home this week to help us more. I learned proper corrections and it improved things dramatically. Ardella is much more pleasant to be around now. EDIT: I just have to gush about Guide Dogs for the Blind. I am just thrilled with the support and help I've received from my club, my regional leader, fellow puppy raisers. You can't fail with them - there is help for every problem with puppy and with me as a learning raiser. It's just the best guide dog group out there!

This picture demonstrates an activity called "Going to Bed." Guide Dogs for the Blind has been using the clicker technique with some handlers and is bringing in clicker training with select activities to all raisers. Going to bed is a command to send a dog to a temporary location - mat, bed - while you go to the door or need the dog to be out of the way while you have company - a temporary stay, I guess. You start by marking a behavior you want your dog to repeat. In this case when Ardella walks to a mat I mark the behavior with a word (in this case "nice") and then feed her some of her kibble (rationed out of a meal - not extra food). Ardella caught on very quickly and I was quite excited to try out the technique myself at home. I seem to have overdone it - she lost her dinner last night, along with all the bark, leaves, dirt, etc. she had been consuming that day at her Auntie Deanna's home (Ardella's second home of late), not to mention the stuff she consumes from our back yard. I think everyone was a little enthusiastic about teaching Ardella to "Go to bed." Anyway, here she is after I marked her going to the mat. She's waiting for the reward.



Deanna kept Ardella yesterday while Keri and I enjoyed shopping for a wedding gown (and Lyn went to Corvallis for Quarterly Meeting). Keri found one - it was the last gown she tried on. I was glad Keri tried on 6 gowns because she was ready to get #1. This activity cemented in my mind that Keri is really getting married and now I'm getting excited. We have a location, a caterer, and now the dress. Keri has friends handling cake and invitations and she's definitely staying within her budget.

Keri had some of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack on her i-pod and I had to go get the soundtrack for myself. I'm reading the book and we're about to go to the movie (we're taking Ardella). I love the soundtrack and the book. I expect I'll love the movie, too, although from quizzing Keri the movie and book are very different. Doesn't matter - it's about Mumbai. I love reading about Mumbai!