The latest fashion

It's a great look, girlfriend.  The pink camo post-surgical onesie -- and that pose!  Feel better soon.

The family that naps together

Franny (background) enjoys some time at camp with adorable new friends!

Great American Teach In

The Great American Teach In is an annual event in our public schools.  Since Brooke was hosting Franny, Franny had the opportunity to join the presentation at Brooke's children's school.  Teachers are able to book guest speakers of every variety throughout the day.  Presenters' topics include hobbies, professions, volunteerism, etc.

Thanks for keeping the tradition alive, Brooke.  This is a great event and teaching opportunity.

Exploring Bass Pro

Bass Pro always has great exposures for the pups, but the Christmas decorations are an added bonus.

Riley

Franny

Martha

The giant fish tank is always a crowd pleaser!

Very, very puzzling...

Beloved guest pup, Cocoa, joins sister Hope with CeCe.

Watch your step

A bright and lovely morning for underfootings!  It's not a word you hear a lot in normal conversation, but it's a word we use frequently in conditioning guide dog trainees.  Underfootings are simply surfaces that we walk on, or, more importantly, that we accustom our dogs to walking on.  Some of the things we use in this exercise are actually substrates a dog might step on, and some certainly are not.  But they all simulate the concept of willingness to walk on odd surfaces.  

The dogs were champs.

Meghan, with Martha

Marie, with Hope

Josh, with Franny

So proud of herself!

Karen, with Jen

Karen, with Riley

Linda, with Wookee

Wendy, with Buddy

Lori, with Rosie

Nice to have some shade for handlers to wait for their turns.

This next exercise is less about the material on which the dogs are walking and more about physical conditioning.  Stepping into and through the boxes makes them think about lifting their paws higher.  Additionally, we speak of dogs lacking "hind-end awareness" -- not really knowing where their backsides are.  This makes them have to think about their back legs stepping up and into the boxes, as well. 

Our next activity was some rally-style skills work.  Raisers needed to cue dogs for the tasks written on the asphalt.  Pretty skilled pups!

Thanks for your hard work, everyone.  (And for helping to tote all the samples.)