Trip to GEB

Today Frito and I tagged along with fellow volunteer, Julia, to the Canine Development Center (CDC) in Patterson, NY. Julia, who is a "puppy starter" in our region had a 9 week old puppy for a few days and needed to return the puppy to the CDC and pick up another puppy. The puppy dropped off was Amalie, a sweet female yellow lab who shares the same father as Frito. She really looked like a mini version of Frito. Amalie is going to train with another program, NEADS, another non-profit organization that trains dogs to assist people who are deaf or disabled. (http://www.neads.org)

The puppy Julia picked up is Oleta, a 12 week old female black lab. Julia was informed that Miss Oleta has some crate issues so it sounds like Julia may have some sleepless nights ahead of her! Even so, little Oleta is absolutely adorable and I hope to get some pictures of her during her brief stay in NYC.

While at the CDC, I got to meet Yuri, who is Frito's father. He is a gorgeous yellow lab who is just as sweet as his daughter Frito. I wanted to get a picture of Yuri with Frito but the workers in the kennel did not seem receptive to that idea. Instead, I had Julia take just a few pictures of Frito and I at the CDC.

Frito seemed a bit confused while riding in the car for an hour to Patterson and the hour back. It took her a bit to settle in but once she found a comfortable position, she relaxed and enjoyed a lazy afternoon in the car.

Sit Stay & Down Stay

Lately I have been experimenting with Frito and her ability to "stay" in different situations and for different lengths of time. She is getting pretty good at staying until she hears either "come" or her release word of "free." At this rate, she'll be a rockstar by the time she goes back to GEB for her IFT.

Sit stay:



(I am definitely not a professional videographer - I almost tripped walking backwards over the hill in the dog park)

Down stay:

Go Place

One of the commands Frito is currently working on is "go place," where she is told to go to a designated location and lay down until I tell her she is free. Her "place" is usually her dog bed or another soft surface. I decided to experiment with another "place" - an x-pen laid on the floor. As the following video shows, she was a bit confused and kept trying to go place to her bed. After a few more tries, I think she now understands that "place" does not necessarily mean her dog bed.

Fashion Queen

Welcome home, Frito!!

After two long weeks without my Frito Bandito, she has finally come back home. I missed her terribly, which is probably not a good sign for when her time comes to leave me for good. She had a great time with her Christmas family, although she managed to eat part of a plastic toy which made her quite sick. A trip to the vet determined that there were no obstructions in her stomach and that the toy had just made her tummy very upset. After several cans of prescription food, she is finally getting back to eating her regular food. Lucky her - I got to increase her food intake by a cup until she gains some weight back. In the meantime, she is svelte enough to fit into this super stylish I Love Lucy t-shirt (the off-the-shoulder look was her idea). :)