Back Home!

The top picture is a "graduation" picture where Jack is clearly not cooperating! Oh well! The second is Keeper with his trainer, Jeremy. The third is Keeper finally home!
We made it back home after a grueling travel day (Friday). We were at the airport by 7:00am for a 9:09 scheduled flight. The flight ended up being delayed because of the weather - Snow and Ice!! After finally boarding the plane we sat on the runway for over an hour to wait to be de-iced. We finally landed in Oakland at about 2:30 pm (California time) - which was 5:30 for us.
How did Jack and Keeper do? Well overall Keeper did well. She did not like to be confined for that length of time and Rich walked her up and down the aisle a few times. Of course, she received lots of attention from passengers and crew alike. Including the pilot! She really didn't enjoy the takeoff and about hit the roof when the brakes came on for the landing. It took both Rich and I to hold her down.
Meanwhile Jack was not a happy camper. If he wasn't sleeping he was screaming. I really fell sorry for the people on that plane with us. The staff was very accommodating and helped whenever possible but Jack was clearly having a bad day and didn't understand what was going on. He kept saying "Jack bye" and pointing to the door. Explanations weren't working. He slept off and on but kept waking up when the "dings" went off.
I was never happier to be back in California. Jack was wonderful after getting off the plane. We had to make stops in Castro Valley and Walnut Creek on the way home to pick up cars and finally made it home around 5:30pm.
Keeper enjoyed running around the house and exploring. Ethan is afraid of her but that will get better.

Graduation Day!

This morning we took our Public Access Test. We passed! YEAH! Of course, we didn't doubt our ability! We have been well trained.
We then had paperwork and graduation pictures. Jack did NOT cooperate for pictures. I will try to post some tomorrow but they are not great! LOL
Tonight we are staying at a hotel near the airport for our early morning flight. Please pray that Jack cooperates on the way home! We look forward to being back in California!

Snow Day!

Well we woke up to 6 inches of snow this morning! As you can see Jack actually enjoyed playing in it. We did not have to go out in it much thankfully. Jeremy did some tracking exercises but it wasn't required and since we have a VERY VERY small chance of ever having to track Jack in the snow we stayed back and worked on behavior disruptions and obedience training.
Tomorrow is testing and graduation day! We will have our public access test tomorrow and then paperwork and graduation in the afternoon. Tomorrow evening we will be traveling to Columbus and staying at a hotel near the airport and flying out Friday morning.
Thanks for all the support!

Jack Gives Keeper a Treat!

Jack has been very hesitant about giving Keeper a treat because he doesn't like his hand near her mouth. But as you can see from the picture he is now giving her treats and not just dropping them on the floor for her.
Today we practiced handling her in public more with Jeremy observing. Have I mentioned how wonderful Jeremy is?? This man is amazing and SO patient. Not many men would be able to teach in a large room filled with eight dogs (plus many puppies in adjoining rooms making lots of noise), 13 kids (10 with autism) and as much chaos as you can imagine that would bring!!!!
And better still - he trained Brentwood Police Department's Police Dog! He was contacted by them 5 years ago to come and train their police dog after rave reviews from the Antioch PD. He trained their dogs also.
The weather: No snow yet but they are calling for a few inches tonight and tomorrow. We are hoping not because we are suppose to track tomorrow again. We certainly don't need practice tracking in the snow! Although some other dogs might. We have classmates from all over the country: Sarge will be going to Texas, Brock and Donut to Illinois, Rosie to Arkansas, Jasmine to Virginia, Kodiak to West Virginia, Popeye to Iowa; and of course Keeper to California!
Tomorrow will be our last day of training. Thursday morning is the testing and the afternoon is the graduations and paperwork. More tomorrow . . .

Day 7

As you can see Jack is enjoying being at 4 Paws. Here he is sharing his DVD player with Cailean! The other picture is Keeper, Brock (being walked), and Sarge in the back.
Today was an optional training day. They had tracking sessions as well as obedience training sessions to attend. We did some obedience training in the morning and after an outing to Super Wal-Mart and Applebee's we went back for another hour or so of training. This evening we walked back to the mall and practiced more tethering.
Jack loves being tethered to Keeper. He is starting to pay more attention to her although he still doesn't like her face near him.
We have had some sickness going around the class. So far we have not gotten the bug. Please pray we remain healthy for the remaining days here.

Day 6

Today was a low key day. Training was inside at the 4 Paws Facility all day. We went over grooming and general care of the dog. On the way back to the hotel the storm hit hard and it started pouring rain with lots or wind. Still no snow!
Here are some pictures of Jack sleeping with Keeper close by. Enjoy!

Day 5

It's hard to believe we have finished five days of training! We spent the morning tracking at a local park. Keeper is an excellent tracker! Jeremy had Jack and I go through a wooded area, into a grassy field and then back into another wooded area to hide. We never take a direct route when walking to our "hiding spot" to make things harder for Keeper. Neither Keeper or Rich saw us take our "walk" so there was no clue as to where to start. Jeremy had Rich take Keeper on the track and she found us without a problem, going the same route we had walked! It is amazing how she picks up Jack's scent and then takes off!
After lunch we all met at the local mall. As you can imagine the mall was crowded today. Jeremy observed each team in public to make suggestions and corrections. He also did a track in the store. Jack is enjoying being tethered to her. He is starting to sit by her on the couch but still doesn't like her face too close to him.
Sorry no new pictures today. Will try to get some tomorrow.