Watson and Her Sister Cami

Watson and her sister Cami LOVE each other.

They are pretty much non-stop action when they get together.

I think Watson is the instigator for playing and wrestling.

And, I think Cami is the one that leads them both down the path of trouble.

But I am not biased.

Separate the Colours

While we were in Colorado we stopped to do a laundry break.

We have a front load washer at home, but for some reason, Watson was pretty fascinated with the washer on vacation.

Watson normally sleeps in her kennel at night. Because we flew to Colorado, we didn't bring her kennel. Instead, we used a towel to define her "place".

She must have felt a need to keep an eye on her "Place" in the washing machine.

Rocky Mountain High

Watson accompanied us on a vacation to Colorado in February.

She was able to experience a full range of weather conditions.

In Golden we had a beautiful sunny day.

She explored their downtown main street and encountered an interesting "animal".

She was very curious about this huge beast that did not smell like an animal nor did it have a warm touch like an animal.

We went to Boulder and watched the street performers entertain on a beautiful sunny day.

Watson tucked herself into the perfect Guide Dog position - out of the way, able to watch everything that was happening, yet ready to go at a moment's notice.

And then the weather changed in Denver.

The temperature dropped and the snow fell. This created interesting smells that were magnified by the cold and snow!

Watson could not believe her good fortune!!!!

She thought she had hit the jackpot.

Everywhere, more snow and more interesting smells.








At Garden of the Gods, Watson was able to practice her photogenic modeling skills with a beautiful location as a backdrop!









Then, another snow storm dumped even more snow on us.

This gave Watson the opportunity to explore deeper snow! And more delicious smells.

It would be an understatement to say that Watson LOVED her vacation exploring higher altitudes and snow.







I will say, John and I did not embrace the cold and snow with the same exuberance that Watson did.

But it was a pleasure watching Watson's pure joy discovering this new experience.

Once again, many thanks to United Airlines for accommodating us graciously and without any hassles.

Puppy Camp

Guide Dog Puppies get to go to Puppy Camp at least once during their year with their Puppy Raisers.

At Puppy Camp the Guide Dog Puppy spends two weeks with another Puppy Raiser family.

The puppy learns a new family, new routine, new handler and gets exposed to a new environment and new experiences.

Puppy Camp also provides another set of Puppy Raiser eyes watching the puppy to offer feedback for strengths and weaknesses.

Our Puppy Camp was a 3-way-trade:

• Watson went to a family that has raised 8 Guide Dog Puppies; 
• their puppy went to Watson's sister Cami's Puppy Raiser, who has raised 5 Guide Dog Puppies; 
• and, we got Cami!

I was looking forward to having Cami with us for 2 weeks. I wanted to see the similarities and differences between the sisters.




When Cami goes for walks, she motors and doesn't stop and smell the roses as much as Watson does.

Every morning Cami got to walk along Buffalo Bayou, cross over foot bridges, walk on sand and meet weird birds that definitely caught her attention!

As Cami's time progressed, she took less interest in the weird birds.

She also got to go to the RV Show.

She climbed in and out of RV's and had impeccable manners.

Cami has decided that she would now like to spend her summer vacation exploring the great outdoors in a new RV.

She especially liked the Mercedes RV's! She thinks it would be an excellent training experience!

When we went out to eat, she was awesome settling under the table in restaurants.

One major difference - Cami BARKS! Something Watson never does.

Oh, and, Cami went into heat while she was with us! YIKES! That was a first-ever for us. GULP.

(Cami is mortified I shared that!)

Meanwhile, Watson managed to find the time to send home a few updates and photos from her Puppy Camp.

It looks like Watson settled in without too much trouble.






Watson went to Camping World.

She was pretty quiet about what she found for her summer vacation, but I am sure she got a few ideas.

She looks so mature and professional!

It made me very proud.







Apparently she was a Rock Star in the sandwich shop.

That made me very proud too.








After 2 weeks all the puppies went home to their Puppy Raiser families.

I think that every Puppy Raiser secretly hopes that their puppy will come back from Puppy Camp fully trained.

It was wishful thinking.

But bottom line - we are thrilled to have Watson back home with us!

Perfect Positioning!

Guide Dogs need to wait patiently when they are not guiding.

For their own and everybody else's safety they need to keep themselves tucked out of the line of traffic as much as possible.

Watson nailed her positioning this time!

She is out of the way, able to see what is happening, and ready to go.

Pearly Whites

From this perspective Watson looks pretty scary.

But she's not.

She is very sweet.

She is gentle, even when she takes training treats out of my hand.

I stuff the light pink Kong toy with training treats and use it for her "Kennel In" command.

It didn't take her long to learn how to get the treats out! She knows a couple of quick flips, nudges and rolls and she receives her reward.

Amazing how food can motivate her.

Embarrassingly, chocolate does the same thing for me!