Growing up!

Puppies have been growing SOOOO fast!!!!  Last Sunday they turned four weeks old, and really turned a corner in their maturity.  We are beginning to see personalities showing in different individuals and they are really beginning to look like little dogs!!  Super excited to see how this litter turns out, they are looking fabulous so far!

Growing up is such hard work!!

I know it's in here somewhere!

I'm watching you...

Future shed dog?

Snuggles...

Papa Bailey loves his puppies!

HA!!

Coffee and cream...

I've got the ball!

Spring Babies

Springtime means new life and babies.  On Sunday, Duty Dogs welcomed a new litter of puppies.

Icy, the dam

We've been eager for this breeding between Chilbrook Dreamlover (Bailey) and Chilbrook Black Ice (Icy).  Dog breeding is a wonderful study of genetics.  In order to get chocolate and yellow pups, both parents have to carry the gene for each color (remember the Punnett Square from high school biology?).

Bailey, the sire

Our other Mama dog, Jackie, does not carry the gene for yellow, so all of her litters have only produced black and chocolate. 








 BUT, Icy carries the gene for all three colors, so we finally have some Bailey Juniors!

Puppies started arriving on Sunday afternoon, catching us by surprise.  We weren't expecting them until the end of the week.  Although it was Icy's first whelping, thankfully it wasn't ours.  We knew how to jump into whelping mode and quickly got the new Mama situated in the whelping room.  Her first pup, a black male made his appearance shortly after 3:00 and the last, a yellow male finished up the pack five hours later.  No complications to report from this whelping.  WHEW!

The final tally was seven little bundles of sweetness-- three blacks (2 male/1female), three yellows (2 male/1 female), and one chocolate female.

As we expected from this sweet tempered dog, Icy took right to being a Mama.  She's so devoted to her pups, it's hard to get her to come out of the whelping box to take a "break" and get a stretch.  Mother and babies are doing fine.


Puppies will be available at the end of May.  Contact us if you're in need of a pup to train for service work.  But you better hurry-- they're going fast!

A MAJOR Event Part 2- "Placement"

So, what does "placing a service dog" look like?  After 20 months of training, we certainly don't just knock on the door and say, "Here's your dog.  Have a good life!"  Ridiculous!

Fortunately, Marie lives within an hour's drive to our California home.  This allowed us to take Major for several "sleep-overs" and weekend visits prior to his official placement.  Because of that prior experience together and time spent in Marie's home, this final placement visit was accomplished in a weekend.

Jeremy, Hannah, and Major flew from Wyoming (our present home) to California on a Friday afternoon.  Major did a fantastic job on the flight, especially considering that they first had to fly to Minneappolis (so much for direct flights!).

On Saturday morning, they arrived at Marie's house in the morning for a day of training and "transferring of the leash."  The agenda was to sharpen the new dog/handler team in the area of Public Access.  So, the crew hit the road and went shopping!

First stop was the grocery store, followed by the hardware store to pick up some supplies to make an elevated dog bed for Major.  The team did great together.

Of course, all that shopping makes you hungry!!  The ONLY option for lunch was a Becker favorite-- In 'N Out Burger.  A protein-style burger is a fine choice for a diabetic, BTW.  Major behaved perfectly tucked away beneath the table, dreaming of french fries but sampling none.

After lunch, the crew returned to Marie's home to debrief while Jeremy assembled Major's "place" (his elevated bed).  Hannah went over the "Owner's Manual" we had compiled for Marie-- a reference spot for training tips, service dog laws, traveling protocol, and such.

Feeling very satisfied by the fruit of the day, Hannah and Jeremy left the new couple alone for the evening.

On Sunday, the crew reunited and spent the morning at Marie's church.  This generous, caring body had supported Marie in obtaining her service dog through their generous contributions.  They were very eager to see the team together, finally!

Another lunch together and some final wrap-up back at the house proved that this new team was well on their way to success.  Jeremy and Hannah departed, but were on-call to return should any needs arise.  None did.

In the months ahead, the new team will develop their special rapport and style and Duty Dogs will be just a phone call away to help trouble-shoot any issues that come along.  That's our job.

(This post was written in conjunction with Part 1, but got lost in drafts!)

A MAJOR Event

One of the first comments we get after telling someone that we train service dogs (after, "That's so COOL!") is, "Isn't it hard to give them up?"  Our answer is, "Of course-- but it's so rewarding because you know they are finally doing what they were born to do!"

Transfer of handler

Recently we had to put our words into action.  After twenty months with Major (since birth), it was time to place him in his forever home serving as a Diabetes Alert Dog for Marie* who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for decades.  This lovely woman has intentionally allowed her blood sugar to run high because of the fear of being low-- a real fear that nags all those who live with Type 1.

Shopping with Major

When a diabetic has lived with the disease for a span of years, they eventually develop "hypoglycemic unawareness" which is the inability to tell that their blood sugar is dangerously low.  Normally, the body sends out signals such as nausea, trembling, sweats, etc. to alert to the low; but over time of frequent low blood sugars, the body does a reset and thinks this is the new normal and stops sounding the alarm.  Without getting sugar into the bloodstream in the form of carbohydrates, the diabetic will eventually experience seizures, pass out, and die in a very short amount of time.  This is the scary reality that all diabetics and their families live with.

Enter Major.  This tall, dark, and handsome gentleman has been specially trained to alert Marie when

her blood sugar is falling into the danger zone.  How?  There is a universal smell for low blood sugar (just like bacon or coffee) and we taught him to recognize it and "alert" when he smells it.

In addition to teaching the scent and the alert, Major has been trained to retrieve the blood glucose meter and to fetch a juice from the fridge to correct the low blood sugar.  Marie also requested that he be able to open the door for her and retrieve her cell phone.  Super dog!

In reality, Major is NOT a superhero-- he's just a dog using his amazing God-given sense of smell to change a life for the better.

*Names have been changed

Catching Up

Once again, we've gotten so caught up with training dogs, raising kids, and LIVING LIFE that we've neglected to bring you along through our blog.

This post will simply be a photo recap of the last six months, highlighting our small litter from July of two males and two females.

They were adorable, roly-poly puppies at six weeks when we introduced them to Wyoming in August.

The boys-- Winchester & Henry

Henry

They girls-- Remington & Daisy

Remington

Remington

 In November, at four months, they had leaned-out and were well into their obedience training.

Remington (purple collar)

Sweet Daisy (pink collar)

Henry

And now as they enter their sixth month, they're wondering where all the pretty green grass went! Sorry pups-- this is Wyoming!  It won't be back for a LONG time!

Puppy pictures!!

The puppies have been doing some serious growing lately.  They are three and a half weeks, and are becoming the cutest things around! Their eyes opened at about two weeks and ears around three.  Tails are starting to wag, and they are beginning to engage with each other in some playtime!!

We also have opened a Instagram account for Duty Dogs. Our name is dutydogs.
Enjoy these adorable pictures!!