Lyric

Lyric's Journey

Stage 1 Introduction

Hi, my name is Lyric! I am proud to have been selected to enter into the Retrieving Freedom training program.  My parents are "Rose" who is originally from Yellow Rose Labradors and is now fostered by the Feckers family, and "Whiskey" from Honey Hollow Labrador Retrievers. During this stage of training I will be spending approximately 8 to 10 months with my new volunteer foster, Karaley.

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. 

December 2020 - 2 months old

This month I made the transition from my wonderful breeding foster home to my new puppy raiser's home! My new foster's name is Karaley and together, we will begin my training with potty training, crate training, walking on a leash, and learning my new name. I'm so excited to begin this journey and can't wait to see what Karaley and I accomplish together!

January 2021 - 3 months old

I am currently working on not biting Karaley's hands - she calls me a little piranha - as well as maintaining eye contact with my handler. I'm doing great at sleeping through the night and am already completely potty trained!

February 2021 - 4 months old

March 2021 - 5 months old

This month I went to a store with a few other training buddies for a group training session! We learned how to keep focus on our handler in distracting environments. I did great! After a training session, I was able to run around and play with my litter mate Hope. We had a blast!

April 2021 - 6 months old

Karaley took me to train at Retrieving Freedom where I played with my brother Otis after a hardworking training session!

May 2021 - 7 months old

I'm so happy to have consistently warm weather now that spring has sprung! I love playing outside. When I'm at the training facility, I work with the professional training staff on maintaining my "place" command while they walk all the way across the room, then coming when my name is called. 

Stage 2 Introduction

Woohoo! I have officially been entered into the second of training, and I am so excited!  Over the past several months I have had the opportunity to see the RFI mission first hand, and can’t wait to dig deeper in the mission of changing lives through my training for veterans with disabilities and children with autism. During this Stage, I will also work closely with the RFI professional training staff to solidify my understanding of intermediate tasks and the foundation of future commands to help mitigate a disability. Follow me through this stage learning how I continue to make an impact! 

June 2021 - 8 months old

July 2021 - 9 months old

I learned how to walk and run on this fun new treadmill which is intended specifically for dogs! It's a great way to get out extra energy before a training session.