Puppy Work, Dogs at Work

I haven't posted in a while. Been a little busy with puppy care and grand kid care. If I'm not cleaning up one type of poop, I'm cleaning up another. =) I know grossness. I laugh to myself whenever I hear people complaining about cleaning up after their new puppy, try having a litter to clean up after. Next weekend the first of the puppies start to leave for their new homes. I'm excited. Their new families are even more excited. I've met some wonderful people who are going to be taking my fluffy babies away. It can be hard to let go, some puppies you just feel closer to. Like the first time you hold it's warm wet body in your hands and two weeks later he's looking at you with blue tinged baby eyes. I think the best time is seeing the tail wag for the first time. How cute is that. Don't think anything could be better except a toothy grin from a grandson. I also happy to say that we may have one or two puppies that will not only be pets but will be learning to be service dogs. Still waiting on that one, but think it is a great opportunity for the puppies. Our Hiedi is my husband's companion animal. A companion animal is a pet that can accompany it's owner where every the owner needs to be that could create a stressful situation for the owner. The companion helps keep the owner focused, stress free and some can detect health problems. Usually no training is involved, just a close relationship between the pair. Another helping dog is a therapy dog. Therapy dogs go through obedience training and are tested for good dog citizenship so the dog can visit patients at care facilities and hospitals. A service dog is a dog that has gone through extensive training and matched to a person who needs a little helping paw so they can live independently. Most people think of German Shepards, Golden Retrievers or Labradors when they think of service dogs. Many fail to see that poodles make great service dogs, they are considered to be one of the highest intelligent breeds, and someone who is allergic to dogs may have no allergic reaction to a poodle or labradoodle. They are more than just a pretty face.