This reminds me of those t-shirts with the dog's nose all distorted due to camera angle... Isn't he cute :)
At this point, all we had clipped were his ears and his part of his head. Check out all of that fur on the table!!
He is watching us very closely :)
An important part of advanced training is life in the kennel. Mason loves being here in the kennel. He has lots of furry friends and a Kennel Manager who does a great job of caring for him. Here is Mason enjoying the sounds and smells of fall as I was able to open my office window today!
He is due for a grooming so check in next week for a slightly less fuzzy Mason!
One morning this week when it was quite chilly outside, Mason and I went for an early walk. He enjoyed the coolness and the new route. Here he is finding the bus. I like his little tongue hanging out :) Can you tell that he is a little wet? We had to walk through some sprinklers! Mason tried to bite at the water as it landed on his head, but he walked through the sprinklers like a trooper. Brrrr!!!! Chilly and wet... felt like fall :)
Happy Fall Ya'll!
Mason in the training van with some of his pals- Willie and Echo
Mason finding a seat-- He loves this game!
Hi, my name is Jamie Landy and I work for Guide Dogs of Texas as an Apprentice Guide Dog Mobility Instructor. It is my pleasure to inform you that Mr. Mason has come into Advanced Training to be a Guide Dog. Now that Mason is playing with the big boys our first course of action was to assign him a Boarder. This is a very important thing for me seeing as I can't take weekends, holidays, work trips or even get through a class with a client unless I have a Boarder for the pups.
Mason seems to be trying to coax Oliver into the water. "Come in. The water's fine."
When Mason gets wet he looks skinny. I was going to say he looks like a drowned rat, but, truthfully, I've never actually seen a drowned rat. Have you? Anyway, he looks a lot better dry than wet.
Two on a toy. Mason wants to make it three.
The puppies didn't spend all of their time in the pool. They ran around the rest of the grounds, including this playground. When I downloaded this picture I noted that Mason wasn't actually playing in the playground. Oops!
Mason played so hard one day 
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When going down the steps Mason has to sit very close to the step. Then the same procedure is followed.
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Wes worked with Mason to find the mens room, stall and urinal. No, Wes isn't pretending he is blind; he just had cataract surgery and his eyes were dialated that day. He is doing well and is amazed at how bright colors are after the surgery. 
Mason learned to find the trash can quite easily. As with the rest rooms he uses his eyes and nose. This made it much easier for him to learn.
Stay tuned later this week for before and after photos of Mason when he got his first professional grooming and haircut.
Oliver is being raised by Phil and Sharon Schermerhour in Austin. He goes to work with Sharon at a verterinarian's office. They have many pets at home to keep him company. It's very different at our home with no pets.
Maybe that's why Oliver whined the first few days, especially when put into his crate. We found this sign at a store in the mall. Oliver must have gotten the message because there was no more whining from him.
It was obvious that Phil and Sharon had spent a lot of time working with Oliver. He knew the commands appropriate for his age. Sometimes he needed some reminders to put his front paws on a step going up and wait for a command to continue. But with a little reminder he did just as he was supposed to do. It was nice having Oliver . We'll miss his calm, mellow presence. It will also be nice to have Mason back, at least for another few months. We just received word that he may go back to Guide Dogs of Texas on July 7th to get more intensive training. But we won't think about that just yet.
Due to the generousity of many community partners there were many items for the raffles, door prizes and silent auction tables.
GDTx staffer Henri Schmidt sold some of her beautiful glass designs. 
I was pretty busy at times so Mason was ably cared for by a young lady named Jamie, and here assistant, Cody. Maybe she'll be a guide dog trainer some day. Cody's mom, also Jamie, already is a trainer and his grandfather has a guide dog trained by GDTx.
There are several criteria for making a match, so it is still too early to know if Mason will guide Sarah Jane. If not, maybe Trixie, the second labradoodle, will work for her. Mason and Trixie enjoyed seeing each other. "Wow, someone who looks like me!"
Several of us made a weekend out it and stayed at the Marriott the Saturday night of Casino Night. We brought a crate for Mason but it wasn't his giant one. Maybe he didn't sleep as well in the smaller crate. What do you think?
"Don't I look handsome?!" (he said modestly as he posed so nicely.)
