GUIDE DOGS GET THEIR DAY IN SUN; EVENT PUTS POOCHES THROUGH PACES.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

A bouncing ball, a squawking parrot, a tasty Milk Bone. Milton, a 14-month-old guide dog in training trotted by all those temptations without blinking.

But then he rounded a corner and a jet of fog squirted out from the bushes. Surprised, Milton ducked behind his master's legs and halted.

``But when would a guide dog ever see fog shoot at him?'' asked Milton's master, tugging at the leash and urging him forward.

Despite this mishap, Milton performed well Saturday, said Bill Alexander of Los Angeles. The young yellow Labrador was one of about 120 dogs - yellow and black Labradors, golden retrievers and German shepherds - who completed obstacle courses, obedience tests and a physical exam during the Ventura County 4-H Guide Dogs' third annual Guide Dog Fun Day at Seaside Park.

Most of the dogs would go home with owners who are training the young animals for the first 16 months of their lives. However, about 20 trainers had completed their work with the young dogs and would turn them over to Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc. representatives at the end of the day.

Those representatives then will take the animals to Northern California for an additional six months of training. After the final training period, a much-needed and well-trained dog will be assigned to a new, blind master.

Volunteer trainers from Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Orange counties worked with their canine charges all morning at Seaside Park.

``It's a day where you can test your dog's ability and see how he's doing,'' said Cary Sanger, a Thousand Oaks resident and student at California Lutheran University. Sanger put her 8-month-old trainee, Shalimar, a golden retriever, through his paces Saturday morning.

``My job is to socialize the dog during these first months and teach him basic obedience commands,'' she said. ``The obstacle courses help teach the dog to be calm. This dog needs to guide a blind person through an amusement park, a shopping center, a park without being distracted.

``He's doing pretty well today,'' she added, stroking the puppy's head. ``He didn't growl or bark at the animals, and that's good.''

Not all dogs performed so well. No puppy under the age of 5 months made it past the Milk Bones without at least a cursory lick or sniff.

``One puppy tried to pull it right out of my hands

'' said Brittany O'Cain, a member of Simi Valley Brownie Troop 190. The Brownies volunteered Saturday and staffed several obstacle course stations. Brittany and fellow Brownie Stevye Marder worked one course, teasingly holding out Milk Bones to passing dogs.

Many a puppy sniffed, licked and nipped at the biscuits. Other dogs growled at the caged parrot, while another tried to leap at the cage.

But the trainees' greatest distraction often seemed to be their colleagues. At one point, a shepherd and a yellow Labrador sat stock-still in the midst of the course, eagerly bumping noses.

``She needs to work a little on other animals; she's so interested in other dogs,'' said Jill Unger, whose shepherd, Pia, charged the parrot and romped playfully with other dogs, both on and off the courses.

For more information about raising a guide dog, call Ventura County 4-H Guide Dogs for the Blind at 645-1470. Trainers must attend classes, care for and train a future guide dog from the age of 6 weeks until 16 months.

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4 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) (Color in Conejo and Simi Editions only) Yellow Labrador puppies in training to become guide dogs wait as their owners socialize.

(2--Color) (Color in Conejo and Simi Editions only) Elizabeth Heller of Santa Barbara shares quiet time with Bessie.

(3--Color) (Color in Conejo and Simi Editions only) Maddy Trafficane, 8, bounces a ball to try to distract Timothy as his owner, Krisi White, 14, holds his leash.

(4) (Ran in Conejo and Simi Editions only) A young guide dog in training goes eyeball to eyeball with a lizard while being introduced to new kinds of animals in an exercise.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News