Exposing Ourselves at the Fire Station

Once a month our Houston group of Puppy Raisers participate in an outing. The purpose is to expose the puppies to as many different experiences as possible so that they are comfortable in any situation. It is also an opportunity for our Area Coordinator to see how the puppies are doing and how they react to new situations and distractions.

This month for our group outing we went to a fire station.








We walked around the trucks, checked out hoses, pumps, the EMS stretcher and the firefighters flashed the lights on the trucks - all providing a variety of smells and visual stimulation.


It was very noisy with many strange sounds and beeping noises. Because it was a really hot day they had huge noisy fans running. The firefighters then added to the volume of noises by turning on the sirens. All these things created a variety of new noises and distractions.

I was so impressed - the puppies all carried on - "business as usual"!

The puppies were then exposed to a firefighter in his protective gear. Each puppy was able to walk up to him while he sat in a chair - allowing the puppy to approach at his own pace. The firefighter then got up and walked up to each of the puppies.

Next he put on his breathing apparatus with a mask, oxygen tank and more beeping noises. He then walked around greeting them and offering them treats. Each puppy was more than happy to take a treat from him.

It was very impressive - we have a great group of puppies that took everything in stride. 

I would be remiss if I did not say "Thank you" to the fire station, and, an extra big "Thank you" to our very obliging firefighter - the "Rookie" - who was a great sport to gear up in extremely hot weather just to help us expose our dogs. Many thanks.

John and I are proud of Bucky.

And Bucky was glad we didn't embarrass him.... too much...