Check in time again at NEADS... honestly the month seems to zoom by!!! I "hate" to think how fast, because it won't be too many more visits and they'll be thinking about Rylie and her advance training!!!! The snow piles are getting a bit smaller, and it certainly was a much "warmer" day this trip than last....
We always make quite the grand entrance when we arrive. I have to say the staff is so happy when our group arrives, and just about everyone comes out of their office to greet us and see how much the puppies have grown. I feel like a celebrity when we are there....
It's pretty routine, with Dave talking the time to talk with us and check in on the puppies progress....
and here's most of the group with Marv (way in the back) Moxie (on the left) then Mercury... next is Otis.. then the golden is not a neads puppy, just a visitor.. his name is Grahame and in the back is Vega... Rylie was under my feet so you can't see her!!!!
This month, Dave had a little different game plan.. he wanted to see "how the puppies play".... seems that service dogs need to be just about perfect in all departments and that included play time. He wants to be sure that we don't have any bullies, or ones that run and hid in the corner. As you can see, everyone had a great time playing together....
And everyone was just happy, there wasn't any bulling or other behavior that would cause concern. I did keep an eye on Rylie, she is so much smaller than the rest... she actually is very small for a Lab, weighing in at just 45 pounds. But, she isn't afraid and got right in there with the big guys and had a grand time for herself.
That's her (to the left) giving as big a tug as she possibly can. If her size isn't a concern, I have a feeling that she would make a great service pup. But, size does play a factor in the matter.. so I guess we'll see how this all plays out. I think she could work for a child or a small adult, however, NEADS doesn't always get the right client at the right time.... matching dogs to people is an art all to itself...
We did some obedience work too.. as important as play is... the work is too. We practiced calling them from play time and then asking them to down/stay (take a little break) and then allowed them back again. Everyone did really well with this too....
We did get a little time in the city, but not as much as usual. I have my last bee class tonite, and so had to get back.... Dave has seen the pups in the city, so I don't think he is very concerned about all of that. And next month, the weather should be even better to go and do city work. We'll be back down in just a week or so, Spring graduation is April 7th, and even though there aren't any puppies from our group graduating, we always enjoy going...
