Zorn is the
youngest of our pups, and (don’t tell the others) possibly the smartest. This
just-turned-7-month-old Red Fox Lab was quickly nicknamed the Prodigy Pup by the
club, and I have on at least one occasion, heard our brilliant trainer (and the
founder of QCCAN) Hillary Plog say that he showed the most promise of any puppy
she’d ever tested.
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| He was so wee... |
Zorn, like
all of the rest of our babies, was donated to our group by the wonderful
Christina Clark of Iron Hill Retrievers.
He officially started his training around the age of 3 months, after
being potty- and house- trained by some wonderful members of our sister
organization QCCAN. He then came to campus with us, and started living with
his foster and team leader Mary Kiolbasa, and became the first official Viking
Pup to live in our official TLA (Transitional Living Area).
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| Although he kind of makes himself at home anywhere... |
Zorn, like
Oden, has been training with Viking Pups since he was a puppy. And the progress
he has made has been unbelievable-
this boy is only 7 months old and he’s already mastered his basic obedience and
some advanced commands (settle, touch), is learning some others (heel, cover
me) and is working on some unbelievably cool things that only Oden is doing (turn
on lights, tug fridges and cabinets open, close those same doors). He’s
brilliant, seriously.
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| Except when it comes to learning he's too big for his favorite places |
Our little guy isn’t going to be our little guy much longer though. Zorn’s big boy legs are finally
coming in, and this poor guy just can’t accept that he can’t fit into his
favorite spots anymore.
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| Life is hard, little dude |
We’re also
worried that our Mister Wrinkleface is going to lose his beloved wrinkles. His
concerned face is one of our favorite things, but I promise we’ll love him
anyway.
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| Seriously, look at that face. Who wouldn't love that face? |
Zorn’s
wrinkles and his forgetting that he doesn’t fit everywhere is only part of this
kid’s charm. He’s one of the quirkiest, weirdest, doofus-iest puppies we’ve
ever met. He’s an absolutely conundrum. This guy loves to play- but he can only
play with one other dog, or he forgets how. He loves training- but only until he has to start training himself
(seriously, the sass this boy gives you when he has to actually do one of his tasks). He loves cuddling- but not petting.
He’s both grumpier and cuddlier when
he’s tired. And though he adores every other dog in the pack, this lil guy actually needs alone time. Seriously. He
will wait at the foot of the stairs at home for his mom to give the ok so he
can go and play with a toy in her room all by himself for a while. He’s a
weirdo, all right, but we love him.
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| Zorn's way of saying 'I just need some alone time, Mom' |
Zorn is
currently in training to be a mobility dog- the client we have lined up for him
is a lovely little girl who might be wheelchair bound for the rest of her life.
This little guy’s got a lot of expectations to live up to, and he is working
hard to live up to them. Zorn’s still got about a year and a half of training
left to finish before he can be placed however, and since this wonderful family
is willing to wait until he’s grown into the role he’s going to play, he’s
enjoying his time being a puppy and learning all there is to learn.
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| Clearly he learns by osmosis (the inner biology student in me is just screaming DIFFUSION). |
To help him
along is his wonderful team of trainers, Kori Marcum, Mike Roehrenbeck, and
Allycia Nelson, all headed up by his foster mommy, President of Viking Pups
Mary Kiolbasa. All of them love the little guy to death and are working him
hard to get him where he needs to be.
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| Mary Kiolbasa |
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| Kori Marcum |
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| Mike Roehrenbeck |
Kori loves how
concerned he looks when she’s having a bad day. Allycia loves that he looks
concerned about everything. Mary
loves just how unique of a personality (ahem, weird) the little guy is (not to
mention how much of a mama’s boy he is!), and Mike loves when the little weirdo
nibbles on his beard (they’re both a little weird, what can we say).
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| Allycia Nelson (sorry I couldn't find one of you with the baby. ) |
Zorn’s
strengths definitely lie in how much he loves to learn, and how darn good he is
at it. Zorn is shaping six tasks
right now- SIX. That’s an insane amount of information for a wee puppy brain to
take in, and he’s rocking at it. His push, which will turn into him pressing push plates to open handicap doors, which believe you me took some effort
to start him on, is progressing more every day. He’s already turning these lights on and off:
And is doing pretty darn well on these:
And eventually will learn to do these:
And all sorts of lights.
He can open a fridge (which takes some umph from a dog), and
then close it, he can open and close drawers and cabinets, he can heel, he can
cover- point is he’s kind of a genius.
One of my favorite things about this guy is
that even though he’s so smart and well behaved, he has some doofus moments
that just remind you that he’s still a puppy. He forgets that he’s on a leash
and will swerve off course after a squirrel and look surprised when he reaches
the end of the leash.
He gets
bored in boring classes, and will look at you like ‘C’mon. We don’t need to be
here, let’s blow this popsicle stand’. He tries to get away with kind of doing his tasks- when learning
settling, he’d figured out that he got treated if he put his head down. A
settle is only on the side, but Zorn would put his head down between his paws and
expect a treat. Then when he wouldn’t get treated, he’d go into a settle like
it was the biggest chore in the world.
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| We're training him to write essays, too. |
He’s a bit
of a weirdo, and a lot of a puppy, and a GREAT dog. We can’t wait to see what
he’s going to do.
Quick Fixes:
Bobo
Bobo’s feet are
doing MUCH better! He’s also supporting our local hockey team, the Quad Cities Mallards, who have a great partnership with us that helps our fundraising
efforts a lot, so support them to support us!
Cami
Cami’s hugs are doing amazing, and I speak from personal
experience! We’ve nailed down just how much we need to bribe her to get her to
learn (such a chore, Camicakes). On the downside, her new vest is killing her self-esteem; vest rules are
she can’t be petted while working, and all Cami wants is to be petted. We
promise they still love you, Cami girl!
Oden
Oden’s feet are doing much better, too! He had a great day
off classes and though I’m sure he missed his handlers a ton (I hope) he had a
great lazy day off and is ready to get back to work! Speaking of working, he’s
figuring out object names like a champ, can’t wait until we can say “get the
card!” and watch him pick it off of a pile!
A special thanks to:
First and foremost, Christina Clark, our fabulous breeder and owner of Iron Hill Retrievers. All of our active dogs have been donated by Christina and they are all spectacular, with wonderful temperaments and absolutely GREAT looks.
The Quad Cities Canine Assistant Network is the non-profit organization that makes our program possible. As sister organizations QCCAN is an integral part of the Viking Pups mission, helping us with training, putting us in contact with clients, and most importantly, training service dogs and reaching more people who need the dogs to live better lives.
A huge shoutout to Compassionate Care Veterinary Clinic, who takes care of our pups at a discounted rate.
And last but not least:
Thanks for taking all of your beautiful pictures, Lisa! They're amazing, and you show off our pups so much better than our grainy phone pictures! You're incredibly talented and deserve every bit of business you get!
To learn more / keep up to date about Viking Pups:
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