Saturday - 1 Day

Today was my last day with the pups. We hung around the house all morning with Charlie and Bella (we are watching them this weekend). They went back to their house at about noon and then we soon went to the barn. After the barn we came back home and waited for people to come for Dahlia's good bye play date. Verity (released GEB pup), Narissa (5 month old golden), Leo (17 month old yellow lab), Gem (7 month old German Shepherd) and Erie (12 month old German Shepherd) all came over to play and they had did great together and had a blast! Now, I'm just waiting to (hopefully) hear from some other raisers who might come over for a little while, but we'll see if that happens (I sure hope it does!!!). I was going to take Dahlia for one last walk, but..... it's raining on and off and it's really cold so I'm not going to... :( Have a great night and I'll update once I get home.

Friday - 2 Days

We got up at about 8:00 and I took Dahlia for a one mile walk. Then we came home and she soon had a play date with Charlie and Bella. One, to exercise the dogs and two, so Charlie and Bella's people could say by to Dahlia because they are going camping this weekend. Then Dahlia slept for a while and then a little boy from my church came over to say by to Dahlia. Dahlia LOVES him sooo much! Everytime she would see him at church and would get so excited! Her tail would go a 100 mph and she would lick him to death! Then she slept some more and at about 1:00ish we left to pick up Halsa and then we went to the barn. My Oma and Opa met us there so they could say goodbye to Dahlia and Halsa too. After we went to Oma and Opa's we headed to the barn. Then we came home and at about 4:30 Pacer came over with his raiser for a final play date with him and Dahlia. All three pups had a lot of fun and now are VERY tired!
I'm going to try to take Dahlia (and maybe Halsa) for another walk tonight, if it doesn't rain. :) I really can't believe that tomorrow is my last full day with Dahlia. :(

Thursday - 3 Days

We got up early and left for the fair by 8:00. Again all of the dogs went into their kennels while we hung out. I did take Dahlia out some and walked her around some. Oh, also on Wednesday I walked her around the fair some too and she got to walk through the cow barn and chicken barn and I also met up with some friends for a short time on Wednesday. Anyway, back to Thursday, I got to be a "Ring Stewardess" and help with the Grooming and Handling B group. After I did that I hung out with the people I was with. Later, (while we waited forever for awards) some of us hung outside because it was WAY cooler out there! And we even got a group picture of all the GEB dogs! (I'll post it later). We had GEB German Shepherd Stud Rambler (his foster familys' son shows him in 4-H), GEB PIT Benji, GEB PIT Becka (Benji's sister), GEB PIT Emily, GEB PIT Diana, GEB PIT Gem, GEB PIT Dahlia, and GEB PIT Virgina!!!!! So we had EIGHT GEB dogs at State Fair!!! Wow! It was sooo much fun! :)
After we got the awards we went back to the 4-H Cynology Booth and then we took Diana, Gem, Dahlia, Virgina, and Benji for a walk around the fair since the ground was finally cool [we couldn't really walk them on Wednesday because the road was too hot for their paws :(]. We saw the sheep, took some pictures of the dogs, talked to a ton of people, and walked around for about an hour. Diana and Gem weren't with us the whole time though because their raisers had to get home. It was soooo much fun and Dahlia was SUCH a good girl! She does soooo good in highly distraction areas. :) My Mom, Dahlia, and I got home at about 9:30 and Dahlia laid around until I went to bed. We had an amazing time at State Fair and I can't wait for next year!!!

Wednesday - 4 Days left

We left the house at about 6:00. Once I got to State Fair I got Dahlia's kennel set up and in she went. I watched my 3 friends show their dogs and finally a few hours after lunch, it was time for the Service Dog Class!!!!!! I was showing Dahlia, my friend was showing her GEB pup Emily, and another GEB raiser was showing her pup Bekah! Dahlia and I got a 98 out of a possible 100! Dahlia did amazing!!! She was focused on me the WHOLE time (no lie!) and she didn't pull, she responded to commands and she just did amazing (she sniffed the ground once). I was soooo proud of her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After the show we headed back to the house I was staying at and all of the dog kennels got set up and all the dogs went into their kennels while us humans went swimming! BTW, at the house we had 10 dogs there!!!!!! Gem (7 month old GSD), Diana (7 month old GSD), Dahlia, Emily (14 month old yellow GLAB), Virgina (16 month old yellow lab), and Benji (10 month old yellow lab) are all GEB puppies in training. Wren is a released GEB pup (she is 7). And Blue (5 year old Border Collie), Max (3 year old Snoodle), and Star (Corgi) are all pets. All of the dogs did great and it was soooo much fun!!! Anyway, after we swam Dahlia, Diana, Gem, and Benji got to play in the kiddie pool and run around some. Then they all went back into their kennels for the night (except for one last "GB" break at 11:00). That was it for Wednesday! My camera won't download for some reason so you will have to wait for pictures!

Tuesday - 5 Days

Today Dahlia came to work with me at the library. She did sooooo good! When I was "stuck" in a section where I was going to be putting away a lot of books I would have her down stay and then she would fall asleep and then I would let her sleep while I worked around the shelves around her. :)

(Below: posing with a dog book) :)

After work we got Halsa and then headed to my riding lesson. This was their last riding lesson and they were really good. Dahlia barked some, but not too much and she even got nose to nose with a different horse than Abel and did go nuts! Yay! After my riding lesson we came back home for a little while and then we went back to the library so the librarians could say good bye.
(Below: after we said good bye to the librarians)

Now, we're home again, but my Mom and I are soon going to be taking Halsa to a new raiser to be. Halsa is staying until Thursday night. After I get home from taking Halsa I'm going to take Dahlia for a walk. I'm waiting until after Halsa leaves because it will be cooler. It is 98 today!!!

Monday - 6 days left

On Monday I took the pups for a "free walk". Then they played outside and had a blast getting all wet and dirty in the pool. :) Then I had to go to work so the pups stayed home. After work my Mom picked me up and we headed to Puppy Class. It was our annual Summer Picnic!!! We got there early so we walked Dahlia and Halsa around some and then hung around until people got there. Then we let them go swimming! Dahlia had sooooo much fun swimming with Hadley and Ned. She and Hadley had fun "fighting" over a toy. :) Halsa swam out a few times, but that was it. After swimming, Halsa went to her finisher raiser to be worked tonight at class. Dahlia did sooooo good! She was so well behaved and it was a great way for her to end her time in my region. From what I hear, Halsa did great too. She snoozed most of the evening. :)
I will post pictures later today. Bye!!

One week....

Well.... the time has come...... this is the last week I have with my two girlies. Dahlia will go to GEB next Sunday and Halsa will be going to a different raiser's house. I know Dahlia is ready to go in for training, but I am so going to miss her! I'm going to try to write a post almost every day this week for the "lasts" I do with Dahlia and Halsa. This morning was my last time at church with Halsa and tonight was my last time at church and Youth Group with Dahlia. Both pups did amazing. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Bye!

Good bye my sweet girl!

On July 22nd I welcomed Dahlia into my home. She was a big girl of 15 pounds when I got her! She hated being hot and would let you know when she was too warm.

Dahlia spent her first month exploring many new things. She went to the horse barn I work at, church, the library, she met many of my friends and family, and she even got to go swimming in a lake!

When she was 4 months old she came down with kennel cough. We spent a few hours (at the wee hours of the morning) in the emergency vet office and finally heard what was wrong with her. We were sent home with things for her and had a very restless night. Whenever she coughed I thought she was going to die so I woke up everytime she coughed (which was every 30 minutes or so). But, we made it through the night and the days got better after that.

Dahlia earned her puppy coat at just 4 months old! I was so excited and so proud of her!

I had lots of fun dressing her up in different outfits. She was a trooper through it all and didn't mind a bit!

In December we had some small problems with her on outings. She just wasn't herself, but thankfully, that was short lived, and only the month of December. We went to many plays, a live Nativity Scene, and many other things.

She loved the snow so much and looked forward to our daily playtimes outside. One weekend in January we got over 40 inches of snow and she loved it!

In February we got to "compete" ;) at the GEB Olympics (it was the theme of our class one time) and we did great at the pairs "skating". You can see the love and bond we have with each other.

March was a rather boring month for Dahlia because she went into heat and was on "house arrest" for 3 weeks. But, we still had fun taking pictures (both goofy and cute!).

When Dahlia turned 11 moths old in April she had her first visit to the bowling alley. She did great and loved being on another new outing!

In May Dahlia turned 12 months! We went to a park to see liliacs, puppy sat Hosta for the whole month, and on Dahlia's birthday we celebrated by being at the festival in my town. We had a booth for GEB and we even walked in the parade!
In June we visited one of the "Seven Wonders of the World". We went to Niagara Falls! We even took a boat ride on the "Maid of the Mist". Dahlia came too and did great on the boat!

In July 2010 we celebrated our one year anniversary by getting Dahlia a new puppy! ;) Halsa came to our house on July 22nd and she was my 1st starter puppy.

In August Dahlia turned 15 months old. I spent those last weeks with her having fun and enjoying my time left with her.


Dahlia whatever you decide to be I will be so happy for you and I will always be proud of you. I love you Dahlia-Mae!!!!!!!! <3

Halsa, I love you lots little girl! I never thought I'd get this attached to a puppy after I had only had them for 45 days, but I did and I'm going to miss you sweet baby!

Random pictures

As promised here are a few pictures of Virgina. :)

Jamie (left) and Virgina (right)

Virgina with a Kong Wubba :)




Last week was fair week in my county. We spent two days there and both pups did great! On Thursday I had a horse show and this is a picture of Halsa that my friend took. If you look, you can see horses in Halsa's eye. :)


On Wednesday my 4-H club helped out at the Dairy booth. Halsa and Dahlia came to and hung out outside of the Dairy booth with my Mom. At one point Dahlia curled up into Halsa's kennel which is a small kennel! I think she did it because it was cooler and it had water on the kennel tray. :)

A visit from a friend!

This weekend my friend (who also puppy raises) came to visit. Her 3rd puppy, Ward, just went in for training and she is currently waiting for a German Shepherd puppy. So instead of bringing a pup on program she brought her relased pup Jamie! Jamie is a female yellow lab and she is also an Alex puppy! Jamie was in training at GEB from August '09-March '10 but then she was released for stress and put into the Heeling Autism program from March '10-August '10. A couple weeks ago she was released from Heeling Autism too and was adopted by Keara and her family. Jamie was a real sweetie and it was fun to have her (and Keara!) visit!!! While they were here we went to the barn I work at and after the chores were done we went for a walk. Later that day I had a picnic and another teen raiser came with her GEB pup Virgina (I'll post some more pictures of Virgina soon!). After the picnic Keara, Jamie, Dahlia, Halsa, my brother, and I went to the lake and walked around. After that we went out to get ice cream. All of the pups did great and it was a fun outing! Sunday (the 15ht) Keara and Jamie left. :( It was fun while they were here though and I look forward to seeing them again soon!

Pretty Jamie!

Jamie and Dahlia taking a break from our walk at the barn

Jamie, Dahlia, and Virgina. Notice how they all sit different? :)

Jamie and Dahlia by the lake

Dahlia turned 15 months on the 15th! This is her last "monthday" that I will get to spend with her. This time next month she will hopefully be in training at GEB! :) I love this picture of her so much! This was on the 14th when she was outside playing with Jamie, Halsa, and Virgina.

Halsa turned 3 months on the 11th!

*Update*

Beau: Beau recently went on a trip to Colorado and did great! I got a ton of pictures of him and Tom working (thanks to Tom's wife!). He looks so handsome in his harness (if I do say so myself! ;). I love that dog so much!
Dahlia: Is doing soooo well on outings. It's making me love her so much more! She leaves in 4 weeks and I can't believe it's that soon!!!! I love her to pieces and I'm realizing that it is going to be harder and harder to give her back to GEB.
Halsa: Is doing good too. She is getting better on her crate barking and she is really good at tuning in.
New Puppy: I have been changed to the "A310" litter (see the side bar for the names of the pups). :) I'm so excited to get my "A" puppy. :) The litter will be tested on August 30th and 31st and then I will pick up he or she on September 7th.

I'm not going to post any pictures right now, but I will soon!