Puppy Camp Leads To Puppy Love

Watson went to Puppy Camp for a week in May.

She got to hang out with the resident Career Changed Guide Dog, Marnie, who is about 4 years old.

Marnie was good at sharing her educational toys with Watson.

But, leading Watson down the Garden Path, or, from another perspective, following Watson down the Garden Path, was another Guide Dog Puppy, Ace, who is about 4 months old. 

They had sooooo much fun together, playing pretty much non stop.

Some excerpts from the Camp Director: 

"Watson's being very well behaved. She is playing very well with Ace and they are constantly wrestling.  She does crack me up though.  Every time he crashes for a short nap she runs downstairs to catch a few minutes on the cold marble.  Then races back up when he starts moving."

Watson did find the time to drop me a few lines: 

"Just today alone I've played in the sprinkler, chased bubbles, wrestled with Ace and Marnie, and hung outside watching birds. The director said I'm a really great camp participant."

Watson came home from Puppy Camp and slept like a log.

Puppy Love can just be so exhausting.

Neighbourhood Watch

Watson loves to sit on the balcony surveying the 'hood.

When we go for walks, her friendly and curious nature makes her want to meet and greet all the dogs and people she sees. Her prey drive makes her want to chase cats, birds and squirrels.

These are not good traits for a Guide Dog leading a vision impaired partner.

While sitting on the balcony, she is learning to patiently watch and not feel the need to get involved.

The dogs, cats, squirrels, and birds all greatly appreciate her practicing self control.
    

West Texas Cowdog

Every new experience builds up in Watson's "memory bank".

New exposures help her to be more confident so that when she is presented with a new experience in the future, she will take it in stride.

Watson explored the wild west of  Big Bend, Texas and handled it like a pro.



She experienced a different and very dry climate. This presented smells from different vegetation. The predominant type of vegetation is cactuses with spiky thorns.

Thankfully, somehow she knew not to touch the cactus and never had any altercations with their painful thorns.

 When she was exposed to a different type of "wildlife", she took it in stride with curiosity and aplomb.

(Maybe it was from watching those National Geographic TV shows.)








Her feet were exposed to surfaces that are different than what she is used to.

At home, she gets a lot of walks on cement and her pads have toughened up. So when she was exposed to the hot, dry, paths with pebbles, it never bothered her.




It was very hot in the desert, and she managed to convince us to let her go for a cool dip in the mighty Rio Grande River, which separates Texas from Mexico.

As a golden, she took to the water without any hesitation.

A great little spot to explore in Big Bend is an old "ghost town" called Terlingua.  Watson decided that contrary to popular belief, it really wasn't spooky.

I am not sure who got whom into trouble, nor, who got whom out of trouble, but we all made it home safe and sound, with a few more experiences under our belt.