Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 62 - Ricki Point of View

Ricki continues to make baby steps in the right direction. I'm very proud of Ricki and Amie. The progress they have made is very significant. However, it might prove to fall short of what Guide Dogs requires. Ricki has a strong instinctive reaction to squirrels. Who can blame her? She is doing what most dogs would probably do in the same situation. We don't want to force the issue forever. It is up to Ricki to decide her fate. if she ultimately decides she doesn't want to do what it takes to be a guide dog, then that is what fate has decided. We hope that our fans will understand that either way Ricki has done a great job, and should be celebrated for her fantastic contributions to the guide dog community. She has helped bring all of us together, and for that we will always be forever grateful.

Stay tuned to see what happens!

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 58 - Ricki Evaluation

We have reached a crucial point in Ricki's training. Her future as a guide dog is in question. Amie met with our community field representative where a myriad of issues were discussed. I wanted to film the meeting, but they decided it would be best if we didn't. We were told we have a few more weeks to get Ricki past her distraction issues. Amie has a few new techniques to incorporate with her food reward protocal, and we are rewarding for smaller things now. We are also taking Ricki out for training everyday at this crucial point in her development. Stay tuned!