GDF Suncoast Puppy

Raisers Meeting

Announcement &

Newsletter February 2012

Puppy Saturday Meeting

Date: February 11, 2012

Where: Hermann’s Royal Lipizzan

Stallions

32755 Singletary Road Myakka

City, FL 34251

Time: 10:00am-12:00pm

http://hlipizzans.com/index.htm

Hi everyone,

I am really excited about February’s meeting in that we are going somewhere we have never been before, to

see the winter home of the famous Lipizzan Stallions. During the summer and fall, they tour the country

dazzling audiences where ever they perform, then settle in for rest and training in Florida from December until

May. How lucky are we to have these rare Stallions in our backyard!

The Lipizzan breed dates back to 1580 being the exclusive property of the Hapsburg Royal family of Austria.

Only a few hundred of these horses have ever existed at any one time. The breed might not still exist if it

weren’t for the efforts of General George Patton and colonel Hermann’s rescue of a hand full of these horses

deep behind enemy lines during the end of WWII. The Hermann family brought them to Florida under the

protection of General Patton which they have presided for over two generations. On Thursday, Friday’s and

Saturday’s, the public is invited to watch them being put through their paces. It is recommended to bring

along a chair and a $5.00 donation is suggested.

I have a feeling there will be more to do than can be seen in a two hour period, so you might plan to pack

some snacks. This should be an interesting experience for our puppies as well as for us. Maybe they’ll even

get to meet one of these royal horses nose to nose.

Directions: If you are coming in from I-75 you want exit 210, Head East on SR-780 (Fruitville Rd) which turns

into CR-780 (still Fruitville Rd). Follow to the end and turn Left (North) onto Verna Road. Turn Right (East) onto

Singletary Road. At the Stop Sign, turn Right again to stay on Singletary Road. Watch your addresses - you are

looking for 32755 which will be on your left hand side. You can also call 941-322-1501 for recorded directions.

Last Month

Although the morning started out a little nippy, we had a beautiful day at John’s Pass. I started out wearing

3 layers of clothes but it warmed up nicely by lunch time. The puppies got to put their toes in the gulf, walk

along the boardwalk past shops and tourists, and got a great view of the area at the top of the newly built

draw bridge connecting John’s Pass to Treasure Island. Afterwards, we had an enjoyable Lunch at the Friendly

Fisherman. All of the puppies did well managing the open backed steps to the boardwalk and with the traffic

along the bridge. Great job puppies and raisers!

Afterwards, we invited a discussion on locations for future meetings. We received some great suggestions,

and it was unanimous to see the Lipizzan Stallion at our next Saturday’s meeting.

On Wednesday, January 25th, we had our first Wednesday meeting of the group at Countryside Mall. It was

a pleasant surprise to be joined by some of our old friends! Remember, you do not have to be a puppy raiser

to join us at our meetings. All are welcome.

New Arrivals

We are anxiously awaiting our next two new arrivals. One is scheduled to arrive Friday March 2nd to Don

and Donna Thompson. At the moment, they are scheduled to get a tricolored smooth coated Collie. Our

second arrival we aren’t sure yet, but Jackie Jordon and Co-raiser Kristin Morris have agreed to accept a Lab,

or cross breed from Smithtown as soon as one is available. Congratulations and we can’t wait. Our group is

growing by leaps and bounds.

Valentine’s Day Event

On the evening of February 11th starting at 5:00pm, the St. Pete Lion’s is hosting a Sunset Valentine’s Day

Dinner fund raiser. All 2 and 4 legged guests are invited. For $15.00 a person, you will get appetizers, dinner

and dessert, be entertained by a personal friend of mine David Bearden, who is a very talented and funny

female impersonator, then working off your dinner dancing to one of our favorite rock and roll bands, The

Surfing Raccoons.”

In addition to being a fund raiser, it also happens to be my birthday celebration. My birthday is February

10th. The Lion’s Club Beach House is located at 9300 West Gulf Blvd Treasure Island FL. The doors open at

5:00pm. Dinner is at 6:30pm. Come and help me celebrate my birthday!

Training Tip

In my former life, I always ended our newsletters with a training tip. Raisers always told me they enjoyed

and used these tips. I would like to continue the tradition, but not exactly in the same way. In the past, I

would pick the subject based on what I saw and heard from raisers at the meetings. Now, I would like the

raisers to pick the subject. It can be anything from obedience techniques, behavioral problems, access issues,

or questions about guide dogs and why we ask raisers to do something a certain way. I do not profess to be

any expert at training, but I have raised 8 puppies and I am on my second guide dog. I am also a member of a

national guide dog users group and know a lot of working teams.

This month, I will start with the basics of the Guide Dog Foundation Puppy Walker Program by including the

wonderfully concise document Diane Anderson put together spelling out the commands in the manual. Next,

I’ll entertain any of your questions. I’m looking forward to hearing what’s on your minds.

27 COMMANDS TO TEACH A GUIDE DOG PUPPY

1. Conditioning for the left side – Is just a simple idea that we would like to stress. We want to get the

pup happy and comfortable with staying in position at your left side whenever the pup is on leash. The

pup should be on a loose leash, calm and in control, and sitting / lying down / standing straight at your

side, not angled inward so they are facing you, and not facing outward in a different direction from

you. The earlier you can get the pup used to this, the better and easier everything else will be.

2. Busy - Get busy - busy, busy - while the pup is on leash this command is used to get the pup to go to

the bathroom on cement or pavement on command. 3. Come - come from wherever you are and

make contact with the handler. Have the pup sit in front, facing the handler. A whistle can be used for

this command or say the pup’s name and ‘come’. 4. Down - lie down at the handler’s left side, facing

the same direction of the handler. 5. Forward - the dog is in position with their rear hips next to, or

slightly in front of, the handler on the handler’s left side and you want the pup to begin walking

forward. 6. Halt – used to get the pup to stop when commanded as he is walking with his handler. 7.

Heel - when the pup is out of position, not on the handler’s left side, the heel command is used to have

the pup come to the handler’s left side and face the same direction of the handler. (NOTE: Our “heel”

command is NOT the same as a traditional dog obedience command. It only means to return to the

correct position at the handler’s left side.) 8. Inside – used to get the pup to go through a doorway

leading into a building, enter an elevator or car. 9. Leave it - this command is used to indicate to the

pup, while on leash, to stop sniffing or scavenging anything on the ground. To stop showing interest in

people, dogs, birds and small animals. The dog will be conditioned from an early age that when they

hear ‘leave it’ the pup will turn to look at you and ignore the distraction. 10. No - universal command

to get the pup to stop whatever they are doing! 11. Off – to get the dog to hop off of a grooming table,

vet exam table. The command is also used to tell the pup to stop jumping up on people. 12. Out - to

get the pup to spit out whatever is in their mouth. (If you can’t remember it - just say “No!)

13. Outside – used to get the pup to enter a doorway leading outside, exiting an elevator or car.

14. Quiet – to get the dog to stop barking, whining or vocalizing. 15. Sit - sit straight at the handler’s

left side, facing the same direction of the handler. 16. Stand - to get the pup to stand up from either a

sit or a down or to halt and have the pup remain in a stand/stay on the handler’s left side, facing the

same direction. This command helps with putting the jacket on the pup. 17. Stay - used in conjunction

with sit, down, or stand to keep the pup in position until you give the pup another command.

18. Steady - the dog is on leash and is walking to fast, say steady to get the pup to slow down. 19. Up –

to get the dog to hop up onto a grooming table, vet exam table, or the back of a van or sport utility

vehicle. This command should NEVER be used to allow the pup on furniture in the house! 20. Up Sit -

this command is used when the pup is in a ‘down’ at the handler’s left side. The pup is then asked to

come into a sitting position. 21. Whistle Feeding – the pup is asked to sit/stay while the bowl of food

is placed on the floor. Blow the whistle, three quick, sharp blasts and then tell the pup to ‘go eat’. This

gets the dog conditioned to coming immediately when they hear the whistle blown.

The following commands are to be introduced and taught to the pups between the ages of 6 and 8 months

when the pup has shown proficiency in certain areas. Your Advisor or Area Coordinator will work closely

with you to identify when the pup is ready to be taught these additional commands. Several of these

commands will be taught in a progression where one behavior is achieved and then we teach the second

behavior.

22. Find the chair - starting at 6 months the pup will be taught to locate the chair and place their nose on the

empty seat. 23. Find the door - the pup must be consistently sitting and staying when entering and exiting

doors. Once that is accomplished the pup will be encouraged to find the door of a building. When the pup is

finding the door consistently they can then locate the door handle. 24. Switch - used to bring the dog onto

handlers right side when doors are hinged on the left side. The dog will be asked to ‘switch’ while on the

handlers left side to go around the handlers back and end on the handler’s right side. 25. Find the elevator -

command can only be introduced when pup is comfortable with entering, exiting and riding on the elevator.

Once the pup is proficient at finding the elevator the pup will then be taught to find the button to the

elevator. 26. Find the stairs - introduced when pup is comfortable on stairs and doesn’t show any

apprehension or hesitation approaching. 27. Stairs up, Stairs down - Introduced when pups are comfortably

navigating stairs at a nice pace without pulling and are able to halt on stairs without any nervousness.

12 THINGS WE ALL NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GDF PUPPIES

1. Feed puppy in the crate for the first two months. 2. Feed one cup per meal with a little water and pick

up after 10 minutes. 3. Rinse bowl and offer water in same bowl outside the crate. 4. Brush/groom

puppy daily. Puppy must be standing. 5. Clean ears when they are dirty. 6. Never walk the puppy to get

it to relieve. Stand in one spot on concrete or other hard surface. 7. People greeting the puppy should

pet the pup on the chest and only when puppy is calm. 8. No walking on public surfaces ‘til puppy is

completely inoculated at 16 weeks. 9. The puppy should sit at all doors. 10. The puppy should lie

down at all counters. 11. Never allow the puppy to pull on the leash without a correction. 12.

Anticipate a lunge and correct early.

7 APPROVED GAMES FOR GDF PUPPIES

1. Puppy recall, 2. Come, 3. Sit and Down with training bone Self-control game, 4. Stay, 5. Find it,

6. Find me, 7. Directed (modified) retrieve: Get “the toy.” No running after thrown toys.

6 APPROVED TOYS FOR GDF PUPPIES

1. Durable Nylabones, 2. Natural sterilized bones, 3. Kong toys, 4. White Dentabones (dinosaurs), 5. Deer

antlers, 6. Pig ears

Wow that is a lot of information for one training tip! Sorry we did not have room for pictures this month. We

look forward to seeing you all in Myakka City on the 11th! You’re A/C’s Debbie & Chuck Hietala

Debbie says I should include some pictures of Last month’s meeting so the online version will have an extra

page of pictures from last month’s meetings.