New Tricks and a Trip to the Mall

Day 10 ~ We're almost there, and May is showing us that she still have energy in the morning but she comes back exhausted in the afternoon.  Today we started are day with the usual question and answer, many families with seizure alert dogs had questions and feedback and some families are now realizing their dog needs more exercise right away in the morning, we figured this out with May right from the time we met her, so we have showed up every morning about 30-45 minutes early just so we can take her to the back fenced yard and let her run and chase tennis balls.  She also loves the Jolly Ball and running with other dogs. 

 

So we worked on a couple of new commands "tricks" as well.  Here May is doing the command "side" but with the hand signal we can add any words like go to sleep, and eventually if we wanted we could add "bang" and she will play dead.  We will not focus on that as that take your hand being in a gun shape, which school does not allow, so we'll keep it to go to sleep May.  We can also use this command to get her to lay on her side for grooming.

 

                                                               Good "side" May!

     Yes, May knows how to rollover too!  She loves this one and will do it over and over again!

Off to the Mall and ready to work.  So today we practiced being around lots of people and letting them approach and pet May in public.  We then worked on going down stairs, weaving in and out of a clothing and a toy store, automatically sitting when I stopped walking.  We rode the elevator, she does fine in a closed in elevator, but still get anxious in the glass elevator.  We then hooked up the tether and the trainer played the part of Joe and pulled and resisted and she kept her eyes on me the whole time...you rocked it May!  She handled walking past food, kids, elderly people using a cane and walker and even when I practiced accidentally dropping her leash, although we are never to do that in public we practice it just in case and it will be on our test on Friday, she did it, stayed in a heel and just stood while I picked up the leash and then returned to a heel easily. 

One more day of class at 4 Paws and then it's test day and Graduation!  We are excited, we're feeling ready and confident and May is ready and very confident as well, she's a hard worker and a hard player!  A perfect match for our family!

Off Leash Obedience

Another full day, but before I forget I have to let you know that on Sunday evening before bed Joe made the coolest statement ever, "May is the best Christmas present ever" and I couldn't agree with him more.
Day 9 ~ Still learning! Today we learned how to have May still listen even when she is not on her leash.  She will always be on her leash in public, but at home when she's just hanging out with Joe she will not be on her leash but we will still expect her to follow all the obedience rules. So today we practiced "Sit", "Down" and "Heel" off leash and just using the training collar not the gentle leader.  We put a "training tab" on her training collar, this is a short length of leash about 3-4 inches used to reinforce commands when given when May is off the leash.

                    Sit, no leash...

                         Down,, no leash....

                        Down, no leash....

                            Sit, no leash....

                             Heel, no leash....

                                Heel, no leash...

Now onto a new command "Back" to be used if you need to back May up because she is to close to a door or an elevator, etc.

 

    A little break and snuggle time with Joe.

Today we also practice "Lap", "Over", and "Nuzzle" May does all of these very well, we have been trying to imitate Joe's angry behaviors more and more and giving the command "Nuzzle" so she learns his behaviors, Joe tried it a couple of times, but quit, I think he was embarrassed at his own behavior at that moment.  But we have a variety of people try it with May so she gets it. And she does really well, we're going to work on the intensity of her Nuzzle as she starts kind of gentle but you can talk her into Nuzzling harder or a bit more aggressively to get your attention...and her treat of course.

 

Another new skill, while walking in a "Heel" we give the command "Down" and keep walking, in our case this might be needed when we tether Joe and he starts pulling hard, we can command her down while we keep walking toward Joe.

                                      
It's the "Tether" game and Joe is playing.  Walking in a "Heel" Joe is attached to May with the bungee type cord May sticks with Denny and pulls Joe to keep up.

 May is in a "Down" because Joe is pulling pretty hard now, but she holds him even as she is drug a foot or so across the floor.

 Joe walks and offers little resistance, but walks side to side and wiggles around. May stays on task.  Now I know why her name is Mayflower...like the ship, she won't let anything sink her!

Tethering work is pretty hard on May, but she likes it, she sleeps well after we have practiced so we'll see how she sleeps tonight, she had been kind of wiggly all day just like Joe has been.  This afternoon was the first time Joe said "I miss being home" well, 2 more days of class and Friday is test and graduation day! Tomorrow will be another public outing day, the only thing May was ever hesitant about in public was a glass elevator we took her in, but she has since gotten over that too.  We walk with her weaving in and out of the food court, up and down stairs, elevators, through close clothing racks, she is amazing staying on a Heel the entire time! 

Nuzzle is the magic command!

Hard day of training and playing needed a cat nap before dinner time.

 Getting ready to go to school, but on May's vest and gentle leader and she freezes until you give her a command.  She is amazing she knows she's ready to work.

Training Day 8 ~ Today we learned that our dogs know sign language, yep, sign language.  All along we have learned hand signals that match commands, and today we practiced just using the hand signals.  So if we are in church or a movie theatre where you don't want to give verbal commands we can just use hand signals. May does really well with hand signals, they said this is common as dogs primary communication is through body language.  So, we can make a "j" shape with our hand and end with palm up and this is the sign for "sit".  For the "down" command you just snap your wrist a little and point with your index finger to the ground.  For the "stand" command you use a "v" with fingers open palm facing the dog and move it forward just a little.  For "heel" command you just use and open palm at your side and move it forward.

Today we also learned the most important command for us.  Although Joe likes when she does a "lap" or an "over" the command "Nuzzle" is what will disrupt and escalating behavior.  May was taught to nuzzle by someone crossing their arms in from of them and making a crying or screaming type noise.  We actually had Joe pretend he was getting mad and gave her the command so she gets used to his actions.  She started to pick up on it the third time, but them Joe was done.  So we practiced it a little longer, she's still a little confused, but shows obvious signs that she knows what to do.

   Watching my dog friends do some seizure alert work for their partners, it's amazing to watch.

 
 

 This afternoon we went back to the Mall, I worked with May and a trainer, the trainer held the tether strap as if she were Joe and pulled and it in all directions as we walked through the mall, May was awesome, she stayed in the heel position the whole time, a couple of times the pull was so hard she really dug in but she kept her eyes on me the whole time.  We even tried just outside a candy store, the pull was so hard, I just put May in a "down" and she stayed and watched me the whole time, no matter which way the trainer pulled.  It was awesome, this is going to make going shopping and to big place like the Mall of America so much nicer for everyone.  We won't have to keep saying come on Joe, come Joe, we just put May in a heel and she'll tell Joe by pulling him it's time to go!

After the Mall, we took May to PetSmart to get a couple of supplies for her, she got a little distracted by all the fun toys and of course there were other new dogs there, but she listened really well.
The we went to Meijer's it's kind of like Walmart and she practiced just casual shopping, and she was amazing, stayed on heel the entire time, sat or downed as commanded when people approached her...she's a great shopper, I'd go shopping with her any day over the men in my house!

But all this activity was exhausting for her, she came in drank water, followed her boy for a couple minutes, when he settled down to watch TV the picture below shows what she did immediately...funny girl!  But time to wake her and go to dinner, more tomorrow.

 

 


 

A morning with Sensitive Santa

Day 7 ~ Today we started out at the Mall for some public practice and an opportunity to visit Sensitive Santa (a Santa and team of elves just for kids with special needs) It was awesome!

 Denny getting advise and feedback from trainer Jessa.  May tends to walk at a faster pace and we just have to correct her or walk in a circle to the left and to the right quickly so she is back to focusing on us and not speeding up her pace, she does this really well.  She did much better with people greeting her and staying in her "down" position, so she gets it that all the rules at school apply in public with us too!

 Joe and May with Sensitive Santa!  How awesome was this, Joe asked for weights and he told Santa May would like a Jolly Ball for outside.

 Back at 4 Paws May went for a run and play with another friend out in the backyard!  Thank goodness we fenced in our backyard, she will need her run and play time.

 Back inside May and Joe sneak a couple of snuggles as class gets started for the afternoon.

 Working on getting May back into a heel position if she goes a little to far or turns herself sideways.

 On to one of May's biggest tasks, tethering.  Denny put May in a "down" and Jeremy the trainer pretends to be Joe tugging at her with the "bungie" type cord that will be attached to Joe's belt.  This will help in stores when we tell Joe it's time to go, we just tell May and motivate her with a "good" treat and she will pull him away from the distraction, as well as when she is in a down she will prevent him from leaving the area from us. Oh, my gosh she is a tough girl Jeremy actually pulled her across the floor 3-5 feet and she stayed in her "down" it was awesome, this will be so beneficial to us in public places with Joe.

                                                       Good girl May, you did it!

 It didn't matter which direction Jeremy tugged her front, back, side to side she stayed put!  May rocked it again!

 Exhausting day, back at the hotel it's time to watch a little TV with my boy!

 And now time for a nap before supper time!  It was hard work today, Santa, tethering, and May was on her best behavior all day!

Caring for our Service Dog

Just a little snuggle time, May slept with Joe all night last night!  She probably would have sooner, but this was all Joe's choice, it was awesome for both of them!  Great bonding.

Day 6 We're half way through class and each day there is so much to learn.  Today after question and answer reviewed "Lap" where May just lays her head on your lap.  Nice lap practice with Joe, she even let Joe take the picture!

 

 The we added the command "Over" in which May will step her front feet across you lap and then do a "down" position.  This is for kids who like deep pressure, Joe likes this sometimes but decided he didn't want to try it right now.  So her is May doing "Over" with me.  She'll do it for anyone.

The next command we learned was "Kisses" May loves to give kisses but would do it all the time if you let her, so with a little peanut butter on my finger we practice "Kisses" this way we will be able to point to any body part that is ok with Joe to give her kisses, if its toes, fingers, hand, elbow, or face, she will give a kiss on demand where ever we point to.

 Lunch break Joe and May do a little playing and a little snuggling too!  May loves her boy and her boy loves her.

 Our afternoon was all discussion of the care of our dog.  Hygiene and grooming from head to toe as well as ok toys and chews and what's not ok and why. Basically, for toys and chews, May can only have Nylabones or Kongs, and anytime she has a play toy she must be supervised.  So tennis balls and Kong toys like tennis balls are only supervised.  She can have a Nylabone in her kennel with her. We also discovered she likes a "Jolly ball" which is a big ball with holes in it, some have a tennis type ball inside, this as well as tennis balls are only outdoor toys for May she gets very excited and needs lots of space to play with these.

We also talked about trimming nails, brooming brushes, brushing teeth, cleaning ears, bathing, trimming hair between their paws, as well as heartworm and flea and tick medication.  We also talked about things like chewing sticks/leaves, it's a No.  We need to clean rock salt for melting ice off their feet, especially if they like to lick it...May doesn't seem to do the licking. We talked about extreme hot and cold on their feet and when to put Dog Boots on them.  We also talked about paying close attention to your dogs behavior patterns, changes in behavior can be indications of illness.  We received a long list of products to buy and what products not to buy.

After class today we stopped at Big Boy for dinner and took May with us, she was awesome, we sat in a booth which was a little harder to do an under we had to try a second time, as she went in head first but wanted to turn around and face out, but stuck out a little to far the first time, but she got it the second time, she stayed in her "under" for 40 minutes with only 1 correction!  She rocked it!

tomorrow will be our second public outing to the Mall. I have all my confidence that she will do great!  The only issue we have is outside, she loves to push her nose in the new snow, but found out today, it's probably the first time she has seen snow...well we know she loves it! We'll have to keep working on this one in public, like the mall parking lot, etc.

Public picture!

Thanks to Teresa, she caught us in a picture at the mall, we forgot the camera.

Going into public!

Last night was a little different night, Joe had a really stuffy nose and was pretty low key, it was amazing how May just kind of read that and was very low key with him.  Put her head on his lap spontaneously several times and just cuddled.

Joe was pretty tired and wasn't sure he wanted to go to school today, but decided at the last minute he'd better go.

 

Wow! Another full day of learning.  Although some of the morning was a review it was new to the fact that we used the training collar (more like a chain) rather than the gentle leader. We did lots of heel, sit, down, distraction work.  Our new task today was preparing to go into public.  May got to do the demonstration with Trainer Jessa.  Jessa pretended to be walking through the mall and Trainer Jeremy walked past with a shopping bag full of Puperoni, May's favorite treat, May was awesome, she just kept walking.

And of course she does get rewarded for doing exactly what is expected of her!  Way to go May, you rocked it.  Lunch break, we did get her outside to run before our next task.

So, off to the Mall we go, in the sleet and snow and slush, they sent us off prepared, paper towels and bags just in case of an accident and told us to meet at Door "D" for Dog, which goes right into the food court, ok game on May.  We walked on heel straight through the food court to our meeting place, May was incredible.  May is very high energy if I have already said that, so she tends to rush her pace in a heel, so I did lots of working on correcting that in the mall, so she stays right on my left side and keeps pace with me.  She was awesome and even only needed one correction when a person in the Mall came up and started petting her. She loves people and wiggles all over the place when someone approaches her but she always stays in her command, although from a sit, because of the slippery floor she often slides to a "down" position and they said that is ok.  So we walked through a store right by the down coats which can send a hunting dog crazy and May did a "down" perfectly and let me move around the clothing as she stayed in her command. Then we took her on the glass elevator, she got a little nervous and kind of crawled into a down, we rewarded her through the ride and she was great.  We then tried the stairs on a heel and she was great, stayed right by my side the entire time, she rushed just a bit when we got to the top to get her treat, so we tried it again stopping half way and giving a treat and stopping one step to the top giving a treat, and then no treat at the top and she was perfect.  And then back through the food court to head back to the hotel. She didn't leave a heel and walked by ever thing and everyone and didn't even sniff at the food. 

Back at the hotel, Joe and May a little snuggle time, I think they are both wore out today. Public appearances I think are pretty exhausting for May to stay on task but she is great.

 We have discovered May does not like to be hot, as soon as we left the Mall, I tried to get her to go potty and all she did was roll her nose in the snow.  We got back to the hotel and she did the same thing, so no problem with our Minnesota snow, she loves it!  We do go to class on Saturday and Sunday, so watch for more details, no break for us, but we are finding out there is so much to learn.

We did ask Jeremy the lead trainer about using her "bark" command for matches and lighters and he said absolutely, they just couldn't do that because of liability.  So he said when we get home just to have her smell matches and a lighter, and give her the command, practice it several times, take a break do it again, and repeat over several days spreading out time in between tries and she should have it in 2-3 weeks.

I also want to add that we are staying at Homewood Suites in Fairborn, just 15 minutes from 4 Paws, and they are amazing.  We have a suite keeper who leaves us notes everyday, and every so often folds towels and Joe's blanket into animal shapes, hearts, etc. he loves that.  They have hot breakfast every morning, and dinner on Mon-Thurs night which is so nice not to have to come back and think about cooking, and they love it when we bring May down to eat with us, although she just tucks herself under the table and watches!  We pack a lunch to take with us to school at 4 Paws, our room has a nice kitchen area with refrigerator and microwave and cooktop too.  There is a Walmart and a Miejer's very close by to stock up on lunch fix'ins.   So being Friday and kind of yucky weather, of course this would be nothing in Minnesota, but they closed schools and other activities here, so it's quiet, but I think we will order in pizza for tonight, and let Joe and May enjoy their snuggle time!