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1. Guide Dog Countdown Begins
Duringmy time as a puppyraiserthere are a few bigmilestones.The firstfull nights sleepwithout
needingtogetupto relieve mypuppy,theirlastvaccine appointmentwhere mypuppyisnolongerat
riskof gettingcertaindiseases,theirfirstbigouting,growingoutof theirbabypuppycoat,growingout
of theirbabypuppycollar,and losingbabyteethandgettingadultteeth.Afterthesemilestonesthe
otherthingsdon’tseemasbig until youreachtheirfirstbirthday,afterthatcomesthe 1 year
anniversaryof yourpuppypickup date.That iswhenthe realityof mypuppyno longerreallybeinga
puppy,butan adolescent,adogthat isgettingclose tobeingthe age of headingoff toformal training.
We have reachedthismilestone withPatrick.
Thisweekmarksthe one year anniversaryof uspickingupPatrick,where inthe heckdidthe time go?It
can’t be a yearalready.. . can it?It doesn’tseemthatlongagothat he wasjusta baby.But the realityis
that he is fairlygrownupnowand he will be off to formal trainingbefore we know it.Now we haven’t
beentoldyetwhenhe will be goingbackforformal trainingbutthe usual recall for a shepherdis
betweenthe agesof 18-20 monthswhichmeanswe mayonlyhave 4-6 leftwithPatrick,unlesshe needs
more time to mature.
For more detailson our products and services,please feel free tovisitus at: hearingdog, mobilitydog,
psychiatric service dog, veterandog, medical alert dog.
For more details,please visitus at: https://growingupguidepup.org/
Patrick hasaccomplishedsomuchin the yearthat we have had him.He has masteredpublictransit,has
visitedavarietyof differenttypesof stores,isamazingatsettlingwhenatrestaurants,learnedbasic
commands,iscompletelycomfortableincrowdedareas,beentotheme parks,veterinaryconferences,
fairs,festivals,movies,traveledthroughoutCalifornia,beenthrough9stateseitherviacar or airplane

2. (he isamazinggoingthroughairportsecurity) andeventraveledtoCanada.He isa verywell socialized
guy.But despite all of his accomplishmentshe hasstruggle withtwomajorthingsthe entire timethat
we have had him.
"Our jobis to dothe bestwe can to socialize,exposehimtoreal worldsituationsandprepare himfor
formal trainingwhile followingthe school’ssetpuppyraisingprotocols."
Patrickis still hasa majordog distractionissue andattimeshe has a veryhard time walkingwithouta
slightpull onhisleash.He hasa huge desire tobe the leaderandreallywantstowalkslightlyaheadof
me.He isdifferentinvarioussituations.He strugglesthe mostwhenwe walkwithotherdogsandthey
are aheadof him,I thinkhisherdinginstinctkicksandhe hasa hardtime understandingthatnot
everyone needstobe ina tightlittle group.Some of the problemisthatI am not exactlythe tallest
personandhave a veryshortstride and,well,he isverylongleggedandhasa prettybigstride.He
naturallywantstowalka little fasterthanIdoand he veryeagerto getmoving,he isa dog on a mission.
NowI’mprettyconfidentthathe can overcome the slightpullingonleashwhenhe goesintoformal
training,butthe dog distractionisstill amajorissue andharderto correct.
Patrickhas by far beenthe hardestpuppytoraise sofar. He isextremelysmart,energetic,stubborn,and
driven.These canbe great traitsfor a service dogif he can learnto have some self-control.He isstill
mentallyimmature andneedsmore time tolearnself-control.One of the trainersatthe school once
describedtousthat shepherdsare slower tomature thanotherbreeds.Thatyou can probablytake a
shepherdpuppy’sage inmonthsanddivide itinhalf andyougettheirmental age.Soif youtake this
equationPatrickisa 7-montholdpuppymentallyina14-montholdbody withhormones.
WhenPatrickwas a youngpuppyhe struggledwithnotgrabbingtoysout of our hands,because he
wantedthemandlackedself control anddiscipline towaitforus to give themtohim.He would
occasionallyaccidentallygrabourhandswhengoingforthe toys.It took awhile buthe didlearntowait
and be patient.Withpatience,andalotof guidance he didmasterthis.Infact he evensurprisedme and
made me reallyproudon our tripto Florida.He wasable to playfetchwitha 3-yearold child.He
listenedtohercommandstodrop histoyand waituntil she threw the toyfor him.Neveronce triedto
grab the toy fromher,eventhoughshe waveditaroundrightat nose level.Thattookalot of self control
on hispart and ittook time toget to that point.
Nowthe dog distractionissue isaharderthingto achieve.Ihave workedreallyhardwithhimandwill
keepworkingwithhimonthis.Goingtogroup dogtrainingclasses,walkinghimaroundthe dogpark,
goingto dog friendlyoutdoormallshave all helpedinhistraining.He hasmade huge improvements,but
he still hasa waysto go.I’m notgivingupon him.
We have beenupfrontandhonestfromthe beginningaboutPatrickbarkingatotherdogs.The response
on social mediahasbeenall overthe spectrum.Peoplehave toldusthatPatrickhas absolutelyno
businessbeingtrainedforservice dogworkwhileothershave beenveryencouragingsayingthatthey
too have hadshepherdpuppiesactthe same wayand withtime andtrainingtheyhave grownoutof it.

3. I thinka lotof people forgetthatwe are not professional dogtrainers.We are volunteerpuppyraisers
sharingour journey,the good…andthe notsogood. Itis not upto me if Patrickshouldorshouldn’tbe a
service dog,thatis forthe accreditedguide dogschool andlicensedinstructorstodecide.Ourjobisto
do the bestwe can to socialize,expose himtoreal worldsituationsandprepare himforformal training
while followingthe school’ssetpuppyraisingprotocols.
Whetheror notPatrickbecomesa guide dogis still yettobe determinedandmostlyuptohim.We will
have to waitand see if he can mature mentallyenoughtohandle the stressof guide workandif itis
somethinghe enjoysandwantstodo.Overthe nextfew monthsitwill be time tocontinue focusi ngon
hisdog distractionissuesandfine-tune hisbasiccommands.The unofficialcountdownhasbegun.
For more detailson our products and services,please feel free tovisitus at: hearingdog, mobilitydog,
psychiatric service dog, veterandog, medical alert dog.