Travelin' girl

Coast enjoys a bunch of new experiences while traveling for Thanksgiving.

 

Saddle up

Indy has an exciting opportunity to meet a very large four-foot!

 

Teach them well

Bobby shines as the "presentation dog" for several elementary school classrooms on the Great American Teach In.  Brooke had Bobby for the day, and Jan and Shilo visited a friend's classroom at a middle school.  We encourage raisers to partner with a school for this fun an informative annual event.

 

Get in "touch" with vision loss

Because puppy raisers focus so much on obedience, exposures, and busy breaks, we have to be reminded from time to time that all of our efforts are pointed toward making life easier for a visually impaired handler.  To that end, tonight we explore the tactile language of braille.

Jan and Keith introduced the subject, with Keith's first-hand experience as an added bonus.  Then we all practiced deciphering some printed (flat, 2D) braille words and phrases as we passed around a variety of "real braille" books and magazines and a couple of devices used to produce the tactile dots.

 

 

 

 

Cianna flips through the newly assembled album that features all of the puppies that the Tampa Area Puppy Raisers have sponsored over the years.  Congratulations, raisers, for your diligent fundraising that has permitted us to name and raise these fine dogs.

 

 

 

Yikes!

How happy is Shilo that this boardwalk is comfortably elevated?

 

Yoga, anyone?

Coast thinks Puppy Camp is a little wacky, but she's game!

 

A trip to the beach

Puppy Shilo poses at the overlook at Picnic Island Park.

That new-car smell

Bobby represents Subaru and Southeastern at the Tampa Auto Show.

 

Jingle bells, so soon?

Coast and George get into the holiday spirit.

 

Raise a glass

Our pups make an appearance at the WhiskEy Tampa Foxtrot event at the Epicurean Hotel.  (The awkward capital E reflects the disagreement in spelling between the Scottish and the Irish.)   ;-)

 

WhiskEy Tampa Foxtrot support Operation First Response, Jackson in Action 83 Foundation, and Southeastern Guide Dogs through the Laxer Family Foundation.

 

Settling in

Bear is the first TAPR pup to be co-raised in two homes.  He seems to fit right in at the office after the handoff between Sue and Jennifer.

 

Set the bar high

...and our little charges will reach it!  They respond so beautifully to "rules, boundaries, and limitations" (thanks, Cesar Millan).  Way to go, baby Shilo.

(Looks like she misses her daddy!)

Loving the river smells!

Our meeting this morning took the puppies to the Hillsborough River for some interesting sights, sounds, and smells.  Boardwalks, a metal ramp, a pier, and a floating dock provided varied underfootings (and nice photos!).

Sarane and Coast

 

George and Kali

 

Debi and Paulie

 

Sue and Bear

 

Jan and Shilo

 

Sue and Bear start the route to the spot where we'll settle in for announcements and practice.

 

Sarane and Coast

 

George and Kali 

 

 

 Meg and Paulie

 

Jan and Shilo

 

Stopping for a quick portrait -- 

 

 

Once we settled in under the trees, we re-taught and practiced our "relaxation protocol" during announcements and discussion.

Shilo does a pretty good job with her first time demonstrating the protocol.

Coast and Paulie in relaxation mode!