Archive for the ‘News’ Category

APAW Poodles Excel in Trick Competition

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Thanks to all of your support, both APAW Demo Dog Charlie and APAW’s Victor have received many votes for their video entries in Zoom Room’s contest entitled America’s Best Dog Trick!

Victor ended-up in 7th place!

Charlie was awarded Honorable Mention, so he tied with two other entries for 3rd place!!! When his prize package arrived in the mail we were entertained to see his name as the addressee :D

Zoom Room wrote a blog entry for each of our boys:
Incredible Poodle Tricks by Charlie

Victor the Rescue Poodle Performs

Enjoy watching and sharing these entry videos, and stay tuned for more working videos of our APAW pooches.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPZtpPzVKjY[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-rXeku8oEA[/youtube]

Donovan Finds a New Home

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Our big, brown ‘goober’ (aka, ‘lovable goof-ball’) has found his new home!

Donovan is a very special dog who entered the program at 1 year old. He is one of the sweetest dogs a person could meet, but a little too goofy to be relied on as a working Service Dog. We consider him a ‘Wonderful Wash-out’.

As a result, he has found a fabulous family home all for his own… and down the road as he matures he may even start doing Social/Therapy work!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpZ7c09dy-I[/youtube]

New APAW Logo!

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Our new Logo is here!!!

And the winner is…

Tara Lamper of Shampoodles grooming salon in NH has designed this amazing logo – we could not be more pleased with the result! Thank you Tara :)

apawlogosmall

Stay tuned for APAW merchandise in the near future!

Harmony – Career Change

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

As Harmony has matured, it has become apparent that she has too much drive for a Service Dog. She is great in essentially every situation, but needs time each day to just ‘go crazy’ with a high energy game or training session. Our intention from the start was to keep her for the breeding program, rather than place her as a Service Dog. This is still our plan, now knowing that only the calmer pups will likely be suitable for Service work.

Due to her love for people, activity, and using her nose, Harmony has entered into the world of Search and Rescue. She has been doing quite well, and will hopefully one day be certified in wilderness search for lost people, handled by our Program Director, Jillian Gartner.

Harmony is almost fully-trained in Service work and is currently APAW’s back-up demo dog for giving presentations (Charlie is our main demo dog).

In addition, now that Harmony is 18 months old and can safely jump, she has started learning to play Frisbee. She is just starting to learn how to vault (push off of handler to jump higher for disc), and may eventually enter in local competitions… not many Poodles in this sport.

Schedule – Memorial Day 2009

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Come join us on Memorial Day,

Monday May 25th,

for a day of Canine Fun!

You may have seen them on Animal Planet’s Dogs 101, in the newspaper, or anywhere around town – now is your chance to meet them in person… Jillian Gartner, and her amazing Poodle Charlie. Not only will you get to ask Jillian anything you’ve wondered about, but you can watch Charlie perform his tasks right in front of you. The Dynamic Duo will even accommodate your requests!

Proceeds benefit American Poodles At Work, a local small program that trains and places Poodles with people who have disabilities. This is the organization mentioned on TV that Jillian founded, and that Charlie provides demonstrations for. These special dogs pick-up dropped items, open doors, turn on lights (and so much more!) for people who have mobility impairment. Each dog learns over 90 commands before they are matched with a partner.

Your friendly dogs are welcome, so bring a short leash (no retractables/Flexis please).

Event hosted by Wow Take A Bow Boarding & Grooming on Bemis Road in Warren, MA (near the Scottish Meadow golf course).


Schedule

Event is from 10am – 4pm.

All-day activities include:

Meet ‘n Greet future Assistance Dogs

Live Music

Bake Sale (goodies for dogs and their people!)

Amazing Designer Collars and Leashes (at great prices!)

Raffle Items to Check-out

Activities to Watch:

11 am ~~ Demo: Reading (written cues!)

1 pm ~~ Demo: Service Dog

2 pm ~~ Demo: Search Dog

3 pm ~~ Demo: Tricks

3:30 pm ~~ Raffle will be Drawn

With your Dog:

10 am – 12 noon ~~ Fun Games (like Musical Mats, and Poodle Says)

12 noon ~~ Class: Trick Training! (w/Jillian and Charlie!)

2 pm – 3pm ~~ Contests! (Best Trick, Best Wag, Hot Dog Retrieve…)

1 pm – 4 pm ~~ Doggy Wash (a nice bath to cool-down and freshen-up)

Nail Clipping Available

Pricing

As stated, this is a fund-raising event to benefit American Poodles At Work, a small local program that relies on the support of the community to help individuals in need receive an amazing dog.

Suggested Donation of $5/adult and $3/child, or $15/family

Contests: $3/entry

Baths: $10 small, $15 medium, $20 giant

Nails: $5

Raffle Tickets: $5/3 tickets

Baked Goods: Varying by size – ‘Now’ and ‘Later’

Come Join the Party!

Vote for Charlie at Bissell!

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Charlie is a Service ‘Demo’ Dog here at American Poodles At Work, our program that focuses on training Poodles for people with disabilities.
Charlie was also featured in episode 1 of Animal Planet’s Dogs 101 series which aired Fall ’08. You can learn more about the APAW program at our main site: http://www.AmericanPoodlesAtWork.org

Charlie is entered as a contestant in the Bissell pet photo contest – winners will have a photo shoot and appear on a future Bissell product package. In addition, Bissell will be donating $1,000-$10,000 to the non-profit animal cause of the winner’s choice.

If Charlie were to win, we would choose the Assistance Dog United Campaign as the recipient. ADUC writes grants for small/young assistance dog programs, and provides vouchers to individuals looking for financial aid to cover the cost of receiving a highly trained assistance dog.
http://www.AssistanceDogUnitedCampaign.org

Can you vote for Charlie the ‘Shoveling Poodle’ this session?

Permission to crosspost and forward widely.

Thank you for supporting Poodles, and People with Disabilities throughout the US and abroad!

APAW Demonstrates Service Dogs At Red Cross

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

As part of an outreach program sponsored by the Holden Huggable Hounds 4H club, Jillian Gartner brought Charlie (her demo dog) and Pixie (an APAW therapy dog trainee) to the Red Cross in Worcester, MA yesterday to increase community awareness. The dogs were a big hit — Charlie demonstrated his ability to read commands from cue cards, even while many a giggling gal held them. A service dog has to deal with routine distractions and Charlie showed everyone how it is done!

Autumn OpenHouse

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

On Sunday October 19 from 10AM – 5PM American Poodles At Work (APAW) is hosting its first Open House jointly with Wow Take A Bow Boarding & Grooming at their 1299 Bemis Road kennel in Warren, MA. This is a free public event to demonstrate our service dog program and give tours of the facility. In addition to a number of activities during the day, we also have service dog puppies who would love to be pet and played with. Owners and their well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome. No reservations are required.

American Poodles At Work – As Seen on Animal Planet!

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

APAW Program Director Jillian Gartner and demo Service Dog Charlie were featured guests on the ‘Dogs 101′ show for Animal Planet which aired this evening. Charlie demonstrated how a Service Dog can be trained to turn off light switches, pick up dropped keys and credit cards, retrieve items from a countertop and pull open drawers for their human partner. Jillian explained proper Poodle care techniques and demonstrated how she has taught Charlie to ‘read’ commands from cue cards, as evidence of how trainable a Poodle can be. This portion of the episode was filmed at our Warren, MA facility and featured many Poodle friends and their owners.