DOGS. OF. THE. NORTH.

IT’S ONLY NATURAL THAT NORTHERN MICHIGAN DOGS WOULD BE KNOWN FOR ADVENTURE, SERVICE, FARM LIFE AND, OF COURSE, WATER. HERE ARE SIX WHO JOYFULLY LIVE THOSE LIVES IN THE NORTH.

- KANDACE CHAPPLE

LEADING THE WAY // BOHDIE

Bohdie is Thom and Sharon Behrns’ 21st gift to the blind. The Behrns, who live in Manton, volunteer as “puppy raisers” for Leader Dogs for the Blind, a nonprofit organization in Rochester Hills. Bohdie is their 21st puppy—a 10-month-old “black-cross” (a black Labrador retriever and golden retriever mix).

“Our job is to provide tons of love, along with obedience and socialization,” Thom says. “We get the puppy at 8 weeks old and we start taking them everywhere.” Bohdie will spend one year with the Behrns before he returns to Leader Dogs for formal training and actual guide work for another 4–6 months.

Bohdie gets another kind of education, too: He goes to school with Thom, a paraprofessional at Manton Schools. “He waits for his next command while sleeping at my desk on a tether,” Thom says. “The students are a great help in raising him.”

So, what’s the training hurdle for a leader dog? Other dogs.

“We use treat training,” Thom says. “And we also use distance as our friend. Knowing how close we can get while still maintaining and reinforcing good behavior is key. Before you know it, we have moved in very close to another dog and our puppy is behaving as he should.”

Whether or not Bohdie becomes a guide dog remains to be seen. “You can’t force the dog to do guide work, the dog makes that choice,” Thom says.

—Visit leaderdog.org for more information

“GREAT” DOGS // BANNER, SHADY AND MURPHY