What's good for the human.....

isn't necessarily good for the dog.
There are many things to watch out for when raising a puppy. We all know they will try and take anything they can manage in their mouths. Although this is not a complete list, the following things can cause illness and even death, in your puppy.

1. Alcoholic Beverages. Ethanol is the component in alcoholic beverages that can be toxic when an excessive amount is ingested. Pets are much smaller than us and can be highly affected by small amounts of alcohol. Exercise caution when drinks and pets are together. Toxicity can cause a wide variety of signs and symptoms, and may result in death.
Signs may include odor of alcohol on the animal's breath, staggering, behavioral changes, excitement, depression, increased urination, slow respiratory rate or cardiac arrest and death.
2. Apples, Apricots, Cherries, Peaches, Plums and Grapes (Raisins). Ingestion of large amounts of stems, seeds and leaves of these fruits can be toxic. They contain a cyanide type compound and signs of toxicity include apprehension, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, hyperventilation and shock.
3. Avocados . The leaves, fruit, bark and seeds of avocados have all been reported to be toxic. The toxic component in the avocado is "persin," which is a fatty acid derivative. Symptoms of toxicity include difficulty breathing, abdominal enlargement, abnormal fluid accumulations in the chest, abdomen and sac around the heart. The amount that needs to be ingested to cause signs is unknown. Do not feed your pet any component of the avocado.
4. Baking Powder and Baking Soda . Baking soda and baking powder are both leavening agents. A leavening agent is a common ingredient in baked goods that produces a gas causing batter and dough to rise. Baking soda is simply sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder consists of baking soda and an acid, usually cream of tartar, calcium acid phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate or a mixture of the three. Ingestion of large amounts of baking soda or baking powder can lead to electrolyte abnormalities (low potassium, low calcium and/or high sodium), congestive heart failure or muscle spasms.
5. Chocolate . Chocolate, in addition to having a high fat content, contains caffeine and theobromine. These two compounds are nervous system stimulants and can be toxic to your dog in high amounts. The levels of caffeine and theobromine vary between different types of chocolate. For example, white chocolate has the lowest concentration of stimulants and baking chocolate or cacao beans have the highest concentration. Depending on the type of chocolate ingested and the amount eaten, various problems can occur.

IFT Photo Gallery #2

For your viewing pleasure:

Jack begins his training.

Marcia and Angel hit the streets of Bradenton.

River in guide dog mode.

William takes a chew break in the training van.

William goes to work in Sam's Club.

Honor leads the way.

Moxie waits at a curb.

Event of the week on ABC 7

Our Open House on Saturday is the event of the week on ABC 7.
The crew was out filming today so check it out here. http://www.wwsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=6924837&nav=menu577_2_13

Puppy Raisers on Gulf Coast Journal

Andrea sent us another link for a television story done on the Puppy Raisers.
Check it out.

Patty Spellman and Ace

Here is a link to a video news story about recent graduate Patty Spellman and her dog Ace.

IFT Photo Gallery #1

I went on a little photo safari today around campus and on the streets of Bradenton, hunting photogenic IFT dogs. Here is what I found:


Breezy and Morgan load up in the training van.

Troy looks forward to a stroll with a dog walker.

Mattee works a curb.

Hannah negotiates open back stairs.


Marcia and Mattee watch the traffic.

DiPaolo in work mode.

Popi waits to cross the street.

Meet Robert & Esther

Hello, Puppy Raisers!

Andrea Early here with another inspiring story from
one of our students.

This one is from Robert Christie, II, (pictured left)
who is in our current training class. I interviewed
Robert on his second day of class, when he
had just been matched with Esther, a black lab raised by Hannah & Dee Wolters of Nashville. At that point Robert was just learning to follow Esther's lead. Today they are a
force to be reckoned with as they prepare to
graduate this Wednesday along with five other
classmates and their dogs.

Here is Robert's story.

Robert Christie, II – A Bright Future Helping Others

First-time guide dog user Robert Christie, II,
loves his new dog Esther (aka Essie) and
is eager to get on with his life plans with her as his guide.
Robert, 24, lost all his vision four years ago in a car accident,
but he still sees a bright future ahead.

“I want to use my life experiences to help others,” he says.
“If I could tell other blind people one thing it’s don’t
be overly dependent on others. We need our independence.
We’re normal but we just have our eyes shut.”

Robert currently lives in Kissimmee, Florida, where
he is majoring in social work at Valencia Community College.
From there, he’ll go to Flagler College in St. Augustine,
where he plans to pursue a master’s degree and become
a mental health counselor.

Although Robert has fully mastered cane use, with Essie he
anticipates a safer, easier time navigating his future.
“I’m loving working with her,” he says. "I was trusting a stick
and now I’m ready to trust a dog. I’m looking forward to
getting out, to exploring more and moving faster.
I can’t stand going slow!”

Hurricane Ike

To the Southeastern Guide Dogs family:

Hurricane Ike looks to be making a bee line for the Galveston and Houston area. We have puppy raisers in the Houston, Austin, Dallas and Ft. Worth areas of Texas. All of these folks will be affected in some way by the hurricane. Let's keep them in our thoughts this weekend as they ride out the storm.

Switch

We're all familiar with the switch command, yes? You know the one, where you're standing at a door and you tell the dog "switch" so it moves behind you and over to your right side. Piece of cake, right? But are you confident that you know when to switch the dog? Not every door is a "switch" door.

Ok, here's an easy way to remember. When you are facing a door, the dog needs to be on the same side of you as the doorknob. So, if you are standing facing these doors, which one is the "switch" door?

The door on the right is the "switch" door because the doorknob is on the right side of the door. It doesn't matter whether the door open towards you or away from you. The deciding factor is which side the doorknob is on. This puts the dog away from the hinge of the door and puts you between the door and the dog.

In fact, the whole reason we switch when going through doors is for the safety of the dog. If the dog's tail or feet get caught, or if the dog is hit with the door, that might potentially make the dog fearful of doors. Which would make life as a guide dog rather difficult.

A note from Mike and Brittani at Georgetown University

Corporal Michael Jernigan, United States Marine Corps, retired after being blinded by an Improvised Explosive Device in Iraq, is one of our school's Paws for Patriots recipients. Several day ago, Michael began his studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The following is an email from Michael regarding his travels with guide dog Brittani. I believe his testimonial serves as powerful reminder of how important each of you is to Southeastern Guide Dogs.

I just wanted to share with you that I have now been at school for four days. In this four days Brittani and I have been trying to navigate a campus that is integrated into the community. Today Brittani and I got dropped off at our usual spot. It is about three to four blocks from where we need to be. It is not a straight shot either. We need to navigate the community of Georgetown to get into the campus and then find our buildings for class.

Brittani and I got dropped off today in our usual spot. Brittani started to walk without me giving her any commands. She took me right to the crosswalk where we need to cross. I thought that I would give her a little rope and just follow her. I did not need to be anywhere in a hurry.

Brittani and I crossed the street and she took over. She navigated the complicated route and took me right to the steps of the building that I needed to go to. I entered the building and she walked up the stairs and right to the elevator. When we got off at the third floor she then walked down the hall and stopped at the door of our class.

I was amazed. In four days Brittani has already memorized our routine and knows where we need to go and when. This has made my life less stressful. Less stress is exactly what I need as I am starting one of the most difficult challanges this year.

Thank you for Brittani. She has truly made a difference in my life. Not only does she keep me safe but she knows how to save my sanity as well.

Semper Fidelis
Mike and Brittani