Happy Holidays!

SSD Burnaby (black), Scotia (yellow) and Yukon (chocolate) wish you happy holidays!

More Puppies on the Way?

Are there more puppies on the way? Keep your fingers crossed! SSD Midge and SSD Pearl were bred, and we're hoping that both of them will have puppies soon.

Midge was bred to SSD Sweet William, SSD's founding stud. Will was a handsome yellow lab who was very healthy and produced healthy offspring. He loved people and was very intuitive - excellent traits for a service dog. If Midge is pregnant, this will be her second litter, and we're hoping to bring some of Will's traits back into the line.

SSD Sweet William

SSD Sweet William

Pearl was bred to Lobuff Hollyridge Wizard of Oz ("Wizard"). Wizard, a handsome black lab, comes from Hollyridge Labradors, a kennel in Rhode Island that breeds and shows labs. Although we have not actually met Wizard, we have heard a lot about him, and he has several traits that we value in service dogs. He is very confident in his environment and is comfortable in new situations. When he went to the Westminster Dog Show, he was calm and had no problem walking around outside on a loose leash and pottying on many different surfaces. If Pearl is pregnant, we're hoping Wizard passes these traits on to his offspring.

Wizard

Wizard

We'll find out on December 28 is Midge is pregnant when she goes to the vet for an ultrasound. Pearl's ultrasound is scheduled for January 3. We hope we'll have sonograms of puppies to share with you!

(Photo credit for Wizard photos: Hollyridge Labradors)

Winter Exercise

When the weather turns bitter cold, dogs tend to get less exercise. They and their handlers take shorter walks, and the dogs spend less time running around outdoors.

This cold weather might be terrible for taking walks, but it's perfect for swimming. Yes, swimming. Some of our puppy raisers take their service dogs-in-training to the Canine Spa for a few hours of playtime in the water. Located in Dillsburg, the Canine Spa is an indoor pool, where the dogs can swim and interact with other dogs. It has tennis balls and other floating toys, so the dogs have a great time romping in the water, retrieving tennis balls.

The Canine Spa generously lets SSD dogs swim for free. (It costs $15 for all other dogs to swim.) There's even a bathing area where the dogs can rinse off or take a bath after their swim.

SSD Cabo loves to retrieve tennis balls from the water.

SSD Taz watches SSD Scotia swim back with her favorite ball.

Our dogs always have a great time swimming. It's a fun way to work off some of that winter energy, plus they have the opportunity to socialize with other dogs.

For more information about the Canine Spa, visit www.dogswimming.com.

Puppy Raisers and Public Access

When you raise a puppy for a service dog organization, it is inevitable that people will question you when you enter public buildings. Sometimes you will even be denied access unless you leave your dog outside. It's very important for puppy raisers to understand the laws about public access for service dogs-in-training. It's so important that we made it the topic of our lecture on Wednesday evening.

What is public access? It's the right of a person with a disability to have a service dog in any place that caters to the public, and this right is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Although the ADA doesn't mention trainers of service dogs, individual states have laws concerning public access for puppy raisers. In Pennsylvania, puppy raisers have the same public access as people who have a working service dog. Puppy raisers may take their service dog-in-training into any store, restaurant, theater, etc. that is open to the public, and businesses are required to treat them as they would treat anyone else who walked into their establishment. (Public access for service dogs-in-training differs by state, so make sure you check your state's laws before taking your dog-in-training out in public.)

If you're a puppy raiser and someone tells you you can't bring your service dog-in-training into their place of business, what should you do? Smile. Always smile and be tolerant of people who don't know or understand the laws about service dogs and service dogs-in-training. Service dog and service dog-in-training laws are not always well known, and employees may be worried that they'll get in trouble with their manager if they allow the dog inside. As a puppy raiser, it's your job to calmly and politely explain that service dogs-in-training are not pets and they are allowed to go anywhere that is open to the public.

Sometimes, you may need to ask for a manager. If the manager is unfamiliar with the laws and tells you that your dog-in-training must leave, don't force the issue. Smile and thank them for their time. If you're a puppy raiser for SSD, take their names and write down where and when you were there. We will be happy to call and talk with them about our program and the laws about service dogs and service dogs-in-training.

There are a few places where public access for service dogs-in-training can be refused. Private residences, private clubs, places of worship and some areas of hospitals can ask you not to bring your dog-in-training inside. In addition, if allowing the dog inside would cause a fundamental alteration in the way a business operates, a business can refuse to allow the dog inside. For example, if a candy factory requires everyone to wear hairnets when taking a tour, they can refuse to allow your dog-in-training to accompany you.

There are exceptions to these exceptions, however. If any of these places holds an event that is open to the general public, they must allow your service dog-in-training access. For example, if a church holds a bake sale or a spaghetti dinner that is open to the public, legally they must allow your dog-in-training to attend, even if they normally ask you to leave the dog at home for worship services.

No matter where you go, whether you and your dog-in-training are asked to leave or whether you're welcomed inside, always be polite and smile. We want a service dog's training to be a positive experience for everyone.

Happy Holidays!

Welcome to our newest SSD dogs!

Meet SSD Samee Mae and SSD Dee!

Samee Mae comes to us from Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc. Her mother, Poppy, flew all the way to Harrisburg to be bred with SSD Fire, and it's usually the custom that one puppy goes to the stud dog's organization, as long as the litter of puppies was large enough. Poppy had eight puppies! Samee Mae is part of Guide Dogs of Texas' "A" litter. (Her original name was Aggie.) We're very happy that Samee Mae is joining SSD!

When we learned that we would be getting one of Poppy's puppies, our puppy coordinator and one of our trainers flew down to Texas to pick one out. To help us choose a puppy that would have a high chance of being successful in our program, we used puppy temperament testing, which looks at the puppy's reactions to distractions and loud noises. We also look at their attention and focus, among other things. After all that, we chose Samee Mae!

Thank you to everyone at Guide Dogs of Texas! We enjoyed our time with you. Good luck to all of Samee Mae's brothers and sisters as they learn to become guide dogs!

The other new member of SSD is Dee. She is a one and a half year old black lab from Guiding Eyes for the Blind. She is a sweetheart! Right now, she is in advanced training, and we're evaluating her for our breeding program.


We are very lucky to have such wonderful relationships with other guide and service dog programs such as Guiding Eyes for the Blind and Guide Dogs of Texas!

Even Puppies Take Tests

Even puppies have to take tests. Our service dogs-in-training had their evaluations on Wednesday to see how the puppies are doing in their training.

Each puppy and it puppy raisers met individually with one of our trainers, and they went over all of the things we've been doing in puppy class. In fact, evaluations are less like tests and more like one-on-one puppy classes.

SSD Taz's evaluation started as soon as the trainer called him back to the room. He and his puppy raiser had to demonstrate loose leash walking. Loose leash walking is one of the most important things a dog can learn. To help the dog be successful, puppy raisers need to be constantly aware of their environment. If there are any distractions, such as other dogs, food, etc., the puppy raiser needs to be prepared and take measures to help the dog continue to walk on a loose leash. For example, we put a tray full of dog food on the floor in Taz's evaluation area. Taz did great when he first walked in the room. He stayed focused on his puppy raiser and completely ignored the food. Later, when he did notice it, his puppy raiser, Kelly, asked the trainer to pick up the food because it would be too much of a distraction for Taz.

When puppy raisers or partners are working out in public, for example in a restaurant, it's perfectly fine to ask someone to sweep up the floor around your table so the dog isn't distracted. We want the dogs to be successful, and we try to make it as easy as possible for them. If a service dog-in-training or even a service dog is focusing on a french fry in the aisle, it's going to be very hard for them to focus on their handler, and they may even try to bolt for the fry, causing a disruption in the restaurant.

Once Taz and his puppy raisers got into the room, we started with body handling. Service dogs need to be comfortable being touched everywhere, without nipping at their handler's hands. Kelly checked Taz's teeth, ears and feet, all places where dogs might not necessarily enjoy being touched.



Next we did basic obedience, such as sit, down, stand and stay. Watch Taz sit, down and stand!

Recalls are right up there with loose leash walking, in terms of importance. A good recall can save a dog's life. In this video, Taz comes right to his puppy raiser when she calls him.




Puppy class is divided into semesters, and this semester, we had been working on the cues "get dressed" and "heel." Taz demonstrated his progress in putting his head through his harness. To teach "heel," we use a box to anchor the dog's front feet so he just swings his back feet around until he's in the heel position. We use the box because not only does it help create a nice, snappy "heel," but it also helps our puppy raisers learn about shaping. They need to break down the "heel" behavior into tiny steps in order to teach it. Here, Taz demonstrates how to use the heel box. Watch how his back feet move while his front feet remain stationary.



Finally, we looked at greetings. If the handler gives someone permission to pet their dog, the dog must stay calm and focused while they're being petted. However, the handler does not have to say yes when someone asks to pet the dog. Service dogs and service dogs-in-training are working dogs, and the handler has the right to ask people not to pet their dog.

Taz and the other dogs-in-training did well on their evaluations. We're looking forward to the next semester of puppy classes!