Keeper

Placement | May 2021

 

Some are nervous for change, but I'm excited for my most recent transition! My trainers made the difficult decision to remove me from the training program to become a Service Dog. Fortunately for me, my wonderful foster at Iowa State, Grace, has decided to adopt me! I can't wait to see all the fun we have in our future together. Thanks for all who helped me get to this point!

Keeper's Journey

Stage 1 Introduction

Hey! My name is Keeper. I am proud to have been selected to enter into the Retrieving Freedom training program.  My parents are breeding stock from Snitker Goldens. During this stage of training I will be spending approximately 8 months with my new volunteer foster, Jess. 

Throughout Stage 1, I will learn the basics obedience, public behavior, and a lot of socialization. I understand that it takes a very special dog to complete the program as there is a high standard to become a Service Dog. I am aware that I may be one of the dogs whose purpose is outside of service work so I will be updating my profile on a monthly basis for all that would like to follow my journey through the program.   

May 2020 - 2 months old

       

This month I transitioned from my wonderful breeding home to my new puppy foster home with Jess. The first tasks I'll learn are potty training, learning my name, crate training, and how to politely walk on a leash. Jess is also fostering another RFI service dog in training, Ackley. She shows me the ropes! Most importantly: naps.

June 2020 - 3 months old

   

Here's a picture of me and my foster mom, Jess, and my foster sister, Ackley! I've been learning a lot with these two guiding the way. We all spend time together at Jess' work to learn to ignore distractions and snooze all day long.

July 2020 - 4 months old

 

Big smiles! I've always been the most shy one in our group, but I love to play outside, roll around in the mud, and run around with my foster sisters when we aren't training.

August 2020 - 5 months old

 

Our time with Ackley is coming to an end soon. Ayla and I will still be here to keep our foster, Jess, happy. We will miss Ackley as she moves onto the next phase of training!

September 2020 - 6 months old

     

I had a huge growth spurt this month! Jess and I make sure to stop by the RFI facility for training. Everyone there is always so impressed with how docile I am! I'm making better eye contact with my handler and able to focus on tasks for longer periods of time.

October 2020 - 7 months old

   

I continue to go to work with Jess daily. I think it's the perfect place to take a snooze! Jess and I participated in a Halloween-themed training class! I dressed up as a dragon. 

November 2020 - 8 months old

   

Jess and I work hard on my training by learning new tasks at foster training class and practicing them at home, in public, and at Jess' work. 

December 2020 - 9 months old

   

Merry Christmas! I have been soaking up every last moment with my foster Jess and her other dogs and foster puppies at home. Next month, I'll head to Iowa State University as part of the Animal Science program. I will train with a student handler and work on various tasks around campus. 

January 2021 - 10 months old

  

Happy New Year! This will be my last full month with my amazing foster Jess and my fur foster siblings, Sasha, Cy and Ayla. We are soaking up the final training opportunities and snuggles. Next month I'll head into the second stage of training. 

February 2021 - 11 months old

     

This month I had to say a tough "see ya later" to my wonderful foster Jess and all my fur siblings. I will miss them bunches and can't thank Jess enough for all she's provided to me for the past 9 months! For the next few months, I'll be training on Iowa State University's campus with a student handler named Grace from the Animal Science program. I am excited to see how we can further my training together!

March 2021 - 1 year old!

I continue to work with Grace each day, checking in with our trainer on a weekly basis. We go to class and lectures together, train, and hang out after long days. Check out how photogenic I am on Iowa State's campus!

April 2021 - 13 months old

     

I have had many fun adventures on campus! Grace and I spent time working at HyVee, where they gave me my own name tag! Unfortunately our time together has come to an end, and we had to say a tough "see ya later." She will be graduating soon, so I transitioned back to the training facility at the end of this month. I can't thank Grace enough for all she's taught me the last few months!