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| 6 Months |
Tao has a new board and train this week. His name is Buddy and he's a 6 month old Labrador mix. He's training to become a mobility dog.
His handler had surgery this week and needed Buddy cared for while she was recovering. He's in the developmental stage of barking at everything that is novel and some things that are not, and he's entered his major fear stage, is teething and has become an adolescent. To say the least, he's a bit of a disruption to the facilities structure, but he's a fun one.
Buddy started his week on Tuesday and spent the first two hours learning how to calm himself when he got to excited during play. He did well in the end and spent his first night working a bit of Zen when resting and playing with his new housemates. He even joined a rousing game of wake the trainer at 3:00 AM by joining Malcolm in a wrestling match on top of her while she was sleeping.
On Wednesday morning he worked on Zen, Sit, Down and Target as a refresher course on his Level 1 behaviors. He is a quick study and was soon doing his behaviors without to much issue.
Buddy - Level 1
On Wednesday afternoon he went on a client consult and barked at fellow Tao family member, Murphy. We are working on his barking at dogs when meeting them. He needs steady work with this until he exits his fear period around 9 or 10 months of age and then constant refresh training to keep his dog skills sharp. He fell asleep after working on resting quietly at my feet and needed to be woken at the end of the lesson.
He visited the local Smoke Shop that I train at and was lovely with his meet and greet behaviors with strangers. He has that amazing Lab wiggle and the full blown Lab personality, so he's a joy to work with.
On Thursday he worked on Zen and Retrieve. He is already eager to pick up anything in his mouth so we worked a bit on his hold and then introduced him to metal objects to expand his retrieve skills. He was reluctant at first try the metal, but was soon working with it well.
On Thursday afternoon he got to visit with his new siblings at the Tao at Auntie Ronda's house. There he met Sheba, Jack, DJ, Chautzie, and Deva. He did very well after calming down in the van before being led into the yard. He didn't play as much as he does at Tao's play yard, but he did enjoy himself and fell asleep before we left.
On Friday he worked on Lazy Leash, but was clearly wiped out by his busy week. He wasn't in the game, so we finished the week working on getting him into the game of training. He then went down and met two new dogs, Tilly and Roxy and after that spent the afternoon at Auntie Ronda's while Tao's trainer went on a client consult.
Buddy needs work on LLW, Zen and greeting new dogs. He has separation anxiety and needs a gentle introduction to separations to help him learn to be alone. He also has not been crate trained and has been spending the week eating his meals in a closed crate to improve his feelings about crates.
He is now able to sit quiet in the crate after finishing his meal. He still has problems with my being behind the x-pen and working with another dog. He can now see me not working a dog behind the x-pen and be quiet. During Malcolm's breaks he was able to settle, but once I started training Malcolm he would burst into protests again. He could watch me make a meal behind the x-pen and stay quiet. He is now able to wait for me when I am in a room with a door closed between us and not claw or scream at me. He is not ready to be left for any length of time, but he is improving daily with his security of being left.
Buddy will be at Tao's facility until next Tuesday. We look forward to his continued growth while attending his board and train.
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| 2 Years |
Murphy is a 2 year old Shitzu who is training to be a mobility dog. His primary task will be retrieving small items for his handler. Murphy has been working on retrieve for the past six months and has been making steady progress.
His handler has serious health issues, therefore has limited energy for training. She's been doing a fantastic job of working slowly but steadily on his retrieve and has built him up from not looking at her hand to now eagerly taking pens and pencils in his mouth and even handing them back when she releases them.
He has improved on his Tuck In skill (going under chairs or tables to settle for the duration of her stay) and has truly settled in nicely on his public access skills. He's improved on his confidence with dogs and has begun to play and enjoy his life with his handler.
The most lovely thing to see is his bond with his handler has grown very strong and he seeks to be near her or on her when she's at rest. Murphy is very close to that magical first retrieve and I can't wait for the phone call from his handler to brag to me how well he did. I will celebrate with her the joy of that first retrieve, a heady reward after such careful and steady work.
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| 12 weeks - she blinked! |
Tao would like to welcome Dakota to the family. Dakota is a 12 week old German Shepherd learning to become a medical alert dog. She has just started her journey.
Today we did a 2 hour intake appointment. She is smart, bold and focused. She met Max, Tao's best neutral dog, and learned to be comfortable with him. She worked on Zen, Sit, Stand, Down and the Come Game. She was eager for each and every lesson we offered her.
She needs work on her loose leash walking, but her handler is dedicated and willing to do the work. I am excited for this new family member and look forward to our lessons. I will be bringing new dogs into her world and teach her to be a good hostess with visiting dogs.
Dakota has started Level 1. I look forward to her progress!
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| 14 Months |
Spirit is a Boxer mix who is working on becoming a medical alert dog. She has some fear issues and needs Zen installed, but she's a funny dog with a lot of joy and love to give.
This was our 5th week working together. We have been working on door manners, Zen, Target and Four on the Floor with Spirit.
After a difficult public access outing I was asked to work with Spirit on her reactions to traffic, children and distractions. To see where her baseline was when away from the home I took her to a quiet shopping center.
Spirit was unable to take treats, focus on me as a handler and was very stressed. I returned to her home and she was again able to take treats and focus on me as a handler when working in the street before her home. Spirit is currently in a fear period and needs gentle and careful entry into the world beyond her home. She hasn't been given the skill set she needs to work before her placement and thus we are now building her foundation, her confidence and her socialization to make her life for service work possible.
Spirit is in an evaluation period until she exits this fear stage and we see if we can't give her the tools she needs to cope with her working environment. She's a joy to work with and I look forward to each lesson.
