Hey, it's me...oh right I mean me Zoltan

Hi! Hi! Hi! It's me Zoltan. Hi! (what's that Stacey? Enough with the "hi"? oh, ok) Anywho, today was a day full of BIG abentures for me. We're at our place at the beach and today we got in the car and went to bunches of places that I got to visit. Stacey and Mom say that new experiences and socialization is super important for me right now, and I don't mind. Nope, I don't mind one bit. They take me to new places and feed me lots of kibble and even sometimes treats when I behave like a good boy! I like it, so so sooooo much. I think I'll let Stacey tell you the rest, I'm kind of tired and I probably wouldn't explain it really good.

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"Yup. I know I'm handsome"

Well, much like Zoltan has said. Today was a day of big adventures for him. We have a beach home in Fenwick Island, DE/Ocean City, MD. We spend most of our time in Ocean City. Anyway, today we decided to take Zoltan with us on some of our adventures. First up we visited a little family farm about 10 minutes from our place where they sell all kinds of tasty fresh produce, flowers, herbs, etc..They even sell plants and seeds so you can grow your own stuff! How cool is that?! I love local produce and I love being able to support it. Zoltan supervised while we picked out some herbs to take home and plant. After the farm we traveled to West Ocean City to check to see if they had something at Bed Bath and Beyond, then it was on to Bath and Body Works to do an exchange. Petco was right next door so of course we had to go visit and finally we stopped in Panera so my mom and I could grab a quick snack. Phew! I'm tired just thinking about all of that again. Zoltan was a perfect gentleman the whole time we were out. I love taking him to new places where he can get used to new things and  meet different types of people. 

"No thanks, I will just stay right here!"

On our way back home we decided to stop and visit our friends up on the beach where Zoltan had an absolute blast in the sand (which he also succeeded in eating a few times). he wasn't to keen on the waves come to "attack" him when he went near the ocean so he happily watched until they came to "attack" and he would back away. Finally we stopped by the community pool on our way back into our place so we could say hi to some more friends.

I know it's blurry but look at that happy face!

Needless to say he is now laying next to me fast asleep, worn and and nice and clean. It's almost dinner time though and I'm positive he won't turn down food!

Welcome to my service dog training advenutres blog!

Hello out there!

I am starting this blog to chronicle my adventures as a first time puppy raiser of a service dog in training. I started out on April 25, 2012 by picking up my first puppy, Zoltan! He is a black labrador, golden retriever cross who was born on February 3, 2012 and he has been an absolute joy so far! I am raising him with the help of my family (Mom, Dad and Brother) as well as our 3 pet dogs (Abby, Molly and Penny).So far, so good!

The organization that I volunteer for is called Canine Companions for Independence (or CCI for short). I would like to say that the views that I express in this blog are solely mine and they may not necessarily reflect the views of CCI.

As a puppy raiser it is my responsibility to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the puppy for the first 18-22 months of his life (or her life). My family and as well as myself are responsible for carefully socializing Zoltan and exposing him to variety of situations along with letting him just be a puppy. We are responsible for training him (he came with a list of 30 commands!) and teaching him to be a polite, well mannered young dog. His tentative turn in time (which is when I will take him back to the organization) is November of 2013. I know that it will be hard to give him back, but knowing that he will go on to help a person who is disabled makes everything I'm doing worth every single second.

CCI provides four types of service dogs 100% free of charge to their recipients. The four types of dogs they provide are:

1) Service Dogs

2) Skilled Companion Dogs

3) Hearing Dogs

4) Facility Dogs

For more information on CCI, their puppy raising program and the types of service dogs they train and provide you can visit their website: www.cci.org

Oh and I guess this blog wouldn't really be complete without a picture of the man himself. Mr. Zoltan!