SO MANY CHANGES!!

Bear has a client!! He started working with a young woman named Jessica who is in a wheelchair. It has been such a benefit to me as a volunteer trainer to have met her, talked with her about her needs, and to have seen her apartment. What a wonderful opportunity for me personally. I also believe the transition for Bear will be much easier.

We started taking Bear to Jessica's in November and we've had two visits with her before Bear went to live with a transistion trainer. He has been living with Deb now since the beginning of December. Deb takes him over to Jess's house about 2-3 times a week and works with both of them on different commands, altering equipment so it works for them, and helps Jess to learn how to work with him. He is currently living with Deb at night but overnight stays with Jess are just around the corner.

I was able to have Bear here for about 2 weeks during the holidays. He just went back today. The hardest time for me was when I met Jessica and realized that this was it. It was actually going to happen. I cried all the way home. Then we met again and I had my daughter with me. Afterward, I was sad but not emotional. My daughter on the other hand cried all the way home. When I turned him over to the transistion trainer - it wasn't difficult for me because I know her, she calls me all the time to tell me how he's doing, and I know he's with a loving trainer as part of her family and not in a kennel.

He came home for the holidays with a list of commands I needed to work on with him. He needed to learn to walk on the right side (side) and not the left (heel), he needed to put his head through his collar when it's held up in front of him, and he needed to move closer to me on command. It took all but three tries of these commands and he got it! So it was a matter of practicing during vacation.

He went back to "college" today and I cannot explain the pride I have. We met at Country Kitchen in Cannon Falls MN and the people there are awesome. We've been there before and they love Bear. They came and talked to us and they said they love to tell people that we train our dogs there. :) Two customers in a table next to ours oooohh'd and awww'd over how beautiful he is and then they found out how old he is (will be 2 in Feb.) and the gasped at how well behaved and wonderfully trained he was. It really was good for a trainers pride!

Country Kitchen in Cannon Falls MN - EXCELLENT food, service, and atmosphere!

So I will see him again at his graduation (that I need to plan!) I cannot wait to see him working for Jessica. Seeing him at her side waiting for her to give him the next command. I really will cry then!! Only it will not be of saddness but of total glowing pride for the little boy I raised to do exactly what he's doing!

More training

We've just been plugging along in Bear's training this last month. We took a few trips to Target and he's come to work with me once. I did work a little on some skills I haven't worked on in awhile and he picked them back up instantly. That has been great!

We are now on a schedule. He gets once a week at my job and once a week on an outing. Our outing for this week is today and we are planning on going to our local mall to eat in the food court and then work the doors. That's his biggest hurdle - doing the skills he does at home out in public.

I really think the key to that is me - my enthusiasm. I am a very private person emotionally so it's hard for me to go crazy wild in public when he does something right. I do it at home - just not in public.

So I guess I need to step outside my comfort level and go hog wild nuts when he opens the door. :) I'll probably scare the poor boy to death. LOL

More of the same

We haven't been doing much training these last few weeks. Bear is still a pet dog from time to time. He's been playing in the yard with some dog friends and his dog sister. He's also just been a dog. We've been getting ready for school and trying to get everything done around the house before winter sets in. That's around the corner for Minnesota. Nice huh?

So Bear has been a dog these last few weeks. Maybe September will bring more training and more visits to schools.

Bear did try to sleep with me last night. That was funny. He's used to sleeping in a kennel and I've decided to try to introduce the bed. He walked all over me until I growled at him from under the covers. He was driving me nuts and wouldn't leave me alone. So I growled at him and he stopped, got on the floor, and eventually settled down for the night. Sometime around 4am - he stuck his pointy nose in my face staring at me from the floor. He's eye level with me when he's standing by my bed. I just pulled up the covers, heaved a big sigh, and he laid down on the floor and went back to sleep.

He's so funny. He doesn't have a clue what to do in a bedroom and not in a kennel. I guess we'll try again tonight. :)

Time flies!

Wow. I didn't realize how much time has gone by since my last entry. The last two weeks were pretty usual. We have had my niece staying with me so Bear taught her some commands. :) He's really great to work with for people because he responds so well.

We did try a couple of new commands. He knows how to take off socks, he's learning how to take off shoes, pants, and jackets. He got the jackets thing right away. He's struggling with the amount of tugging it takes to get the pants off but he's working at it. I also have to check with our training director for a way to get the shoes off. Bear has to grab from the bottom by my heel and then tug. I just need more direction on that one.

We took Bear to see a movie "Monster House". I have no reservations about him in public anymore. He did great! He sniffed around a little looking for popcorn and then laid down for the entire movie. The noise didn't bother him at all. I can't wait for a dog movie to come out - we are so going!

Bear's going to have a couple of visiting dogs this weekend. We are dog sitting for a friend of mine. He does so well with new dogs. He's at a great age where he can play if they want to - and for hours, or he can just sit around if they don't. It's amazing how calm this breed of dog is compared with some others I've worked with.

Bear's been out to eat a couple of times these past two weeks too. Again he does great. Now I have to work on skills with him in public.

He really has then down great at home. He looks at me with a blank stare in public. The main problem I think is my quiet reaction to him in public. I don't want to draw attention to him and so there isn't any excitement in my voice. I'll work on that. :)

Barking Update

We have had very few episodes of barking from Bear. He's not wearing his bark collar around the clock. He is not barking at birds anymore since we got a bird as a pet. He's only barking when he plays and when he sees people walk by the house. Neither are excessive. He has also not run the fence line barking for quite awhile. It may be because it's 90 degrees with 90% humidity. Whew! It's hot!

A trip to the mall

Last night Bear, my niece Megan, and I went to Applebees at the mall to eat. Bear did pretty good. He was a little ansy.

I never know if I should feed him prior to outings or not. If we are going to be driving for an extended period of time - I don't feed him because he gets car sick. If we are going to work on skills - I don't feed him because he works better for food. If we are going to a restaurant in town - I need to feed him.

He was too hungry and wanted to clean the floor for the wait staff. He's so helpful. He had a difficult time settling down and the booths were such that I couldn't step on his leash very well. I ended up putting his gentle leader back on him and holding it firmly so he couldn't get out from under the booth.

The staff at Applebees were awesome. They asked if I'd prefer a booth (which I did). They warned me before they filled balloons for kids. Bear really perked up when they did that. The helium tank made a very high pitched sound. He did great. He just jumped up to watch but didn't whine or bark.

YIKES It's hot!!

It doesn't seem right that Minnesota should get 90 degree weather with high humidity but it does. Right now we are in the middle of a very hot and humid streak.

So at our house, the plastic baby pool gets filled up and the dogs get to play in that for the short time they are outside. They love it! Bear is a little apprehensive but allows me to coax him in and pour water over him so he can cool off.

The other day they were outside enjoying the pool and apparently caught site of a chipmunk. They both went after it and it ran under the tiny lip of the air conditioner. Dogs don't understand where the nice cool air of the house comes from and proceeded to take out the low voltage (thank god!) wires of the air conditioning unit. Nice.

For two days we had to live without air conditioning and Bear was miserable. He couldn't find a cool place to lay. Poor boy!!

I am writing this while sitting in a very comfortable 76 degrees!! Thank you air condioning fix it man!!! Bear thanks you too!

June Training

This month we worked a little on skills and a lot on learning the requirements for the Canine Good Citizenship test. If we would've taken it that day, Bear would've passed - to my surprise. There were four other dogs in the room and I haven't worked very much on "stay". There is a test where he has to stay while I walk away from him 10 feet (I think) and then I walk back and give him an "okay" to release him. I could've believe he stayed. I was so proud of him.

Here we are working on "tug". He does that really well. I have a new list of commands I have to practice on. I have been spending the last two months socializing him in public. Now I need to concentrate on skills in public. 

Bear and I became Kiwanis Members!

Here we are being inducted into the Westside Kiwanis Club. Bear and I have been attending for about 2 months and we were just accepted as members. Bear wears his Kiwanis pin on his service dog jacket.

Kiwanis Club West website

Meet Kiwi

As you can see, Kiwi is fitting in nicely. Bear is doing fantastic with her. He used to bark and bark whenever she made the slightest noise. Now he only barks if she does something outrageous like flapping her wings in the cage. We never have her out of the cage when the dogs or cats are in the room. They either go outside or are closed in a bedroom. Bear's bird therapy is working very well. 

Bear has a new sister

Meet Kiwi. She is a green cheeked Conure and she is about 2 months old. She has joined our family as part of Bears training.

Bear has bird issues. He barks and barks at them just like he barked at the hot air balloon. We are hoping that if we can desensitize him to birds, he will be able to live with one if he goes to a client who has a pet bird.

WOW! That was unexpected

We had a hot air balloon land in our neighbors yard. Very impressive and it drove Bear crazy!! You can hear him in the background.

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=F9FE7FCA9E8BDE57

Enjoying a day in the rain

Here are Bear and Kiya trying to dry off before coming in the house. Bear is chewing on a little rawhide bone. 

Here's our whole crew!

 

Officer Novak with Monty

Rochester Police Department

Officer Novak did such a great job with the dogs. He let them sniff everything and he was very attentive. This is one of those fun trainings that we get to do when we work with other people. Our dogs get so much out of a training like this.

Training held in Rochester

It was our first training in Rochester. We went to the downtown mall (The Galleria) on a weekend because it is very quiet. The local police department helped us out. An officer showed up and let the dogs sniff and touch everything - handcuffs, billy stick, taser, etc.

The idea behind this training is to see how the dogs react to the new sounds and smells. If they have any issues then it's a training issue we've uncovered and we work to desensitize them.

Absolutely none of our dogs had any problems at all. Bear was completely unfazed. He sniffed the officer and all of his stuff and then looked up at me like, "So?". Perfect!

Bear with the Rochester Police Department

 

We have a barking problem!

Bear has always barked across the back part of my yard. I finally figured out what he is barking at. I thought it was my icky neighbor but it turns out it's these HUGE crows that have a nest in one of the giant trees.

When I let Bear out in the morning, he goes straight up the hill and barks as he's running back and forth across the yard.

The other day, my icky neighbor was outside working in his yard. Both of my dogs hate him. In fact, a couple of years ago, I was in the hospital having my appendix out and I left my dogs out for one night. My Golden was stolen from an area in my fence between our lots. My other dog Kiya, who was there that night, was not stolen but would not go outside for any length of time for weeks. When that man is out, she barks and snarls, and foams at the mouth. Hates him.

Bear will continue barking but he comes to the house which is nice. Anyway, I needed to deal with the barking issue. I finally got a bark collar that sprays out citronella spray when the dog barks. WONDERFUL!!! It worked like a charm. Now when he wants to bark, he whines so it won't spray him.

The drawback is that while he has the collar on, Kiya won't go near him. She hates the smell of it. So he's shunned when he has it on. Plus, if he forgets and barks, Kiya comes running in the house.

The other day, Kiya did figure out how to manipulate that collar. She was eating her bone and Bear wanted it after finishing his. So he kept coming around her. She'd growl and he'd still pester her. Finally, she barked and he got sprayed! He left her alone after that.

Bear's Training Continues

Since Bear passed his eye exam, we have continued with our training. We usually get together once a month with other puppy raisers as a group (like we did at the Mall of America). We have a new one scheduled in our hometown which is nice. We have a mall here that is four stories, stairs (both regular and spiral), elevator, tile and carpet floors, inclined floors, glass railings on all upper floors, and it's attached to a skyway system. The dogs will get a really good training there. I will do an update after that training.

It has really been very uneventful. Bear seems to be perfecting what he knows. I was able to teach him to turn off the lights and to take my socks off. Once the dogs know the basic commands - anything can be taught. He knows tug - so I pulled my sock off a little (to protect my toes) and then I stuck it in his face and said tug - he did! Too smart.

He also knows rise and touch and so to get him to rise to the lighswitch and touch was easy. He also gets a visual reward when the light goes off or on. That helps too. I am at a little disadvantage with the light switches. I only have one that Bear can do head on. He is so big, it is difficult for him to learn on the lights in my hallway where he'd actually have to get to it sideways.

We've had a couple of possible leads of clients for Bear. One is in Minnesota which would be great! I am learning a little more about this person (from a third party) and trying to perfect the skills that this client needs so Bear could be ready fairly soon.

The person's main need is fetching. OH! Can Bear handle that or what? I've had to close off my child's room (which is a disaster) because Bear can't stand anything on the floor. He brings me everything. He's very clean. :) I was afraid that if I let him tackle my childs room, he'd have an anxiety attack. :)

The first of May he will be going to work with me everyday. He does a great job. It's very boring for him because I have a desk job. He just sleeps under my desk. I figure if he was at home, he'd be sleeping in his kennel. So it's just a tradeoff of location.

We love these dogs!

Here's Nancy getting up close and personal with Isaac. All of these dogs are in such loving homes.

A day just for fun!

We had an outing at our friend Deb's house. Most of these dogs are her pets. You can see Bear and his brother Joey (the two collies). Don't ask me who is who.

2nd TEST COULD MEAN THE END FOR BEAR

Bear went in for an x-ray of his hips and elboes. This is done to try to predict if there is any chance of hip displaysia or any other factor that would make it difficult for Bear to perform his skills as a service dog. It would be very unfair to have him working while in pain.

One of the other puppy raisers took him in because the test done at her vet's office is $200 cheaper than at mine - interesting.

They started out by sedating Bear. They need to position his body and also have him lie still. The vet actually took many, many x-rays. Many more than he needed for our tests. They said they had a very difficult time getting him in the position that he needed to be in so the x-rays would be clear. His body just would not adjust properly. After taking many x-rays to find out why - they did not find anything that would make them suspect problems.

So Bear was cleared!!

First Test Could Mean the End of Service Dog Job For Bear

Bear went in today for his certification eye exam. This is one of a few medical tests that can determine the fate of a dog in a service dog program. Joey's brother had this same test done about two weeks ago and didn't pass because of a genetic disease. Obviously it's in the family but does Bear have it?

We went to Veterinary Ophthalmology Specialty Practice, Inc. to see Dr. Olivero to find out.

It's a very simple test. The nurse starts out by putting drops in the dogs eyes and you fill out paperwork. Once your done, the dog is ready to be seen. They take you into an exam room, talk with you a little about the test, and then they dim the lights. Dr. Olivero puts on a light and looks into the dogs eyes.

In Bears case, I didn't mention I was there with a potential service dog, nor did I mention his brother had been there and failed the same test.

Dr. Olivero asked me if Bear was going to be in any type of service dog work (as he's looking in Bear's eyes). I said yes as I was sitting there sweating. Then he asked if Bear has been fixed. Again I said yes thinking he was going to say, "Good because he has a genetic disease."

He said, "Well that's too bad because he doesn't have any problems with his eyes and it would've been nice to breed him." I was so relieved to say the least!!!! BEAR PASSED!!!!

We celebrated with ONE chicken nugget from McDonald's which he puked up an hour later in the car. Oh Bear!!!

Doesn't Bear look a little like "Alice the Goon" from Popeye? I really see a resemblance.

Bear demo's for the Kiwanis

Bear and I had the priviledge of talking to a Kiwanis group today. We gave an overview of working dogs, talked about the help that American Assistance Dogs needs, Bear demonstrated some of his skills, and then we answered many great questions. Hopefully, we raised some awareness and Bear and I will be doing more speaking.

Linda and Teamo were also at the Kiwanis meeting with Bear and me. Teamo is the newest puppy in the program. She is mentioned on another website with a much better picture. While Teamo was waiting for a trainer, she was placed with a couple of families that worked together to provide her a wonderful home. She is on page nine in the bottom right hand corner. Very cute picture.

www.teamortho.us/Newsletters/Dec05Jan06.pdf

Joey and his trainer/permanent owner Deb - January 2006

Joey and Bear are brothers and were the first two puppies to be in the program with American Assistance Dogs. Joey went in for a standard certification eye exam and they found that he has a blind spot in each eye, he's far-sighted, and he has a genetic eye disease common in collies called "Collie Eye Anomaly". Joey has a grade 2 which means it will not get any worse (like blindness) but it does mean he can no longer be a service dog. Joey is a WONDERFUL dog and his puppy raiser Deb has been given the okay to adopt him and keep him in her family. He will have a wondeful home but we'll miss him terribly in the program.

The Day At The Mall Of America - Oh Boy!

Unfortunately I don't have pictures. Another puppy raiser, Chrystine, took many pictures none of them showed up. Sorry Chrystine. I forgot to tell you how to use my camera. So I will try to explain things the best I can.

It actually was the first time we had all gotten together since before Christmas. The dogs present were Bear, his brother Joey, Cooper (chocolate lab), Monty, and Teamo (a little yellow lab/golden retriever mix). Typically we walk for about 1/2 hour to try to get the energy out of the dogs so they can concentrate.

Well, we didn't get very far and Bear had a bout with diarrhea in front of a jewelry counter. The woman there said, "Do you want me to call maintenance?" Oh yes please! Okay. Accidents happen. Yes they are embarrassing but the only thing you can do is clean it up and continue on. That's what we did. Maintenance was very fast in getting there which was nice.

Sometimes Bear's stomach acts up on him. He can be nervous but usually he shows that with car sickness - which he did puke on the way up to the Mall of America.

We stopped at an open spot and practiced sit, down, stay, fetch, rise, take, and hold. Of course, any time you bring a dog in a public place, people gather. So we had a bit of a crowd watching us. A couple of puppy raisers noted this job is NOT for shy people - this is very true! But most of us have had small children and some have lived through teenagers. Embarrassment? What's that?

In fact, it was much more embarrassing when I took my 4 year old into a public restroom and someone passed gas. VERY LOUDLY, she exclaimed - Mommy! Someone farted! I wanted to die! So Bear's diarrhea was really nothing in comparison. I understand that at 13 years old - I'm in for a whole new definition of embarrassing antics. Great.

Anyway, we finished practicing some skills and continued on to practice walking on different surfaces and to find a handicapped door to practice with. Well, Bear had another bout with diarrhea. Again, we cleaned it up and I took him immediately outside to try to finish if he needed. He of course was done by that time. Again, I was very thankful it was on tile.

We stopped at a Holiday store that was in the mall and bought some Pepto Bismol. Our training director gave him some and it appeared it would work. We were hopeful anyway so we started out again for a walk and some elevators.

He hadn't gone in quite awhile so we ventured into an Italian restaurant. To my concern - or horror- they sat us on a very large area rug. Great. He was a little ansy trying to clean the floor but then settled down and slept for awhile. He only barked once which was good. Unlike the Fazoli's restaurant issue. Hmmmmm....both Italian restaurants. Maybe that's what he doesn't like. :)

Meanwhile, Teamo and Cooper went home. They are still pretty young and get tired fast. Joey was somewhere in the mall with Deb and eventually found his way onto a little girls lap to take a nap until their ride showed up - how cute is that! And Monty was with us doing a fine job of staring at the other patron's in the restaurant - a bit of long distance begging. BUT he was not barking and he did not have diarrhea. He was being a very good boy. Actually, Bear was being pretty good too.

Anyway, we finished our meal and were on our way out when the Diarrhea Monster reared its ugly head. We just got up - walked off the area rug (thank you!), and walked into the hallway of the restaurant when Bear squatted and started going.

I think the absolute stupidest waiters were there literally just standing there watching. There were two of them - Frick and Frak. Well, I looked up at Frick and asked him to get me a towel. Frick: "Oh. Yeah. Right." I swear he was gone FOREVER! Then he came back with a roll of paper towels. He just hands me the roll. I wanted to ask him what he was doing while he was walking back to me. Could he not have unrolled a bunch of it for me? Now there's a novel idea (multi-tasking, being of some help, doing something proactive, working to get that smelly poop up and out of the restaurant as fast as can be done - take your pick). But no, Frick and Frak just stood there - doing nothing. I grabbed the paper towels to clean things up and realized I had no where to put it. I had to ask Frak for a garbage can. Let me repeat: I HAD TO ASK FOR A GARBAGE CAN! How stupid can two human beings be?

Anyway, I started cleaning and the very nice people I was with told me to get Bear out of there and take him outside. Okay! So we went outside and he was there a long time trying to go poop. Nothing.

We went back in once he felt comfortable and was no longer squatting. We got back in and we stayed by the door - on the tile - talking. Pretty soon, guess who comes along? SECURITY!!

Oh boy, here came the third degree from "Rent-a-Cop": Why are you here? What are you doing? Did you call ahead to clear this with security? We don't allow pets in here. Wait here while I go talk to my supervisor.

So we waited. Not like we were going anywhere anyway. We provided him with all the correct knowledge he obviously needed:

1. We are here training service dogs.
2. They are not pets. They are service dogs who have rights given to them to be in places like this for training by the American With Disablities Act.
3. Here is the law on this card.
4. We did not call ahead because that is not something we've had to do in the past.
5. We are not putting on a show for anyone. We are training.

Okay. Well Officer Doogy came back and handed my ADA card back and said that we should call ahead in the future and to remember that this is private property. He then went on his merry way.

I wanted to say, "Excuse me, but don't you think you should be concerned about real problems? Like who keep pooping in the hallways around here?!!?? Obviously that person is very sick and you should be trying to find them!" LOL!!! Oh! I NEVER actually said it. Only in my mind - where it's still funny even after 4 days!

Anyway, Officer Doogy left and a very nice man, in a wheelchair, stopped to talk to us. He had a lot of great questions: How long is your waiting list? We don't have one right now. How can I get one of these dogs? All you have to do is apply. My landlord doesn't allow pets, can I still have one of these? Absolutely!! They and you are protected under both Minnesota and Federal laws.

In fact, he met Monty who is almost ready to graduate. Hopefully this man will complete the application and we can get them hooked up together. Which would be great!

The best part of the whole day was the incredibly valuable training that was provided for new puppy raisers. There was diarrhea, urine (Teamo peed on the carpet at Lego land), security staff questioning us, barking in public, elevators, fetching, people watching, and a potential client. I have been training for a long time and NEVER had I experienced these things all in the same day.

Plus, even though Bear felt like a pile of doo-doo (no pun intended), he was the only dog that day that would do the handicapped door AND he did it in front of the Training Director AND he did it well!! I think it was all that practice in AZ when we were out with my brother-in-law Ron!
Poor Bear. He has been the "butt of our jokes" all week as we have emailed back and forth various jokes related to the weekend. It really was the most embarrassing and invaluable day!!

Oh yeah. The ride home: About 1/2 hour in the van - he barfed. Then about 45 minutes later, he bolted up on the backseat, stood up, and started pooping. I've never pulled off the highway so fast! He then had diarrhea alongside the road.

Then we got home and just as I parked the van in the garage he was lurching like he was going to puke. I got him out of the van and he barfed all over the garage floor. In Minnesota that day, it was about -12 (that's 12 degrees BELOW zero). Puke freezes fast and it has since been frozen, in it's entirety, on my garage floor. I have to step over it every morning going to my car.

Guess what? That entire day was my fault. I had given him some leftover food the night before which made him very sick (obviously) plus he had apparently eaten a cat toy. All of which was evident in the puke autopsy I've performed every morning trying to get to my car. There may even be a doll sock in there - I'm not sure.

Four days later - he's back to his old self and I have learned many lessons!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BEAR!

Bear has officially turned one year old today! Here are pictures from is very low-key birthday party (family only).

First we start with the "cake". The first layer is semi-soft dog food. YUMMMM!!!!

Here is the "icing"!

Next are the lovely sprinkles.

TA-DA!!!! A Masterpiece

The picture speaks for itself.

PERFECTION in a dogs eyes!

The guests have arrived!

Bear loved the Greenie "candle" and alm0st the hand that's feeding him.