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I need to give a bit of history on Mr. Murphy. He came to me almost a year ago with a frantic and worried handler. She had just suffered the sudden loss of her previous service dog and had adopted Murphy as a candidate expecting a similar training experience with him as she'd had with her previous SD. The problem was, Mr. Murphy was not a natural at retrieving and she couldn't figure out how to get that vital skill.
Murphy was also sick. She showed me records of his appetite, number of times with amounts and consistency of vomiting and diarrhea and his diet, vet visits and more. Murphy had been sick from the day she got him and had, for 8 months, been vomiting and having diarrhea and she couldn't find a way to solve the problem. She was told by one vet that "dogs just throw up" and to just feed him boiled chicken and rice for the rest of his life.
I watched him moving and could tell his stomach was bugging him. He had a great personality and outside of his health issues was an excellent candidate, but his health was a bugger.
I suggested she take him to my vet because I had an idea of what the problem was. She said she would and when I saw her next it was on a visit to the vet with Malcolm. I attended Murphy's consult and what I had thought was the actual problem - Murphy had a very bad case of IBS and needed medication to get his inflamed digestive tract under control.
He's on low dose prednisone, specialized dog food and has a back up of pills for vomiting if he accidentally ingests anything that he shouldn't (ie, anything that ISN'T his special food) and medical release to work toward being her assistant.
Murphy perked up within days of starting the new food and medication and soon became a silly and happy boy who wasn't always feeling icky.
We've progressed in that time from not even looking at objects to nose jamming them to happily taking them in his mouth and taking interest in things that fall.
Today? Today he picked up a pen and gave it to his handler! His delivery is rough, but Mr. Murphy is 97% to a full on retrieve!
His homework for this month (we see each other monthly at this time) is to take the pen from his handlers "off" hand and put it in her hand that she normally accepts objects from him (for me, that would be my left hand to my right hand). Since he's biting down on the pen and log rolling it in his mouth he needs to learn a still mouth - to achieve this we are reducing the time between when taking and handing the pen to his handler. If he can't hold it still in his mouth for 1 second then he needs 1/2 a second between taking and giving to be successful. He's not to be rewarded for crunching or rolling or chewing the pen. If he does that, his handler is to take the pen without saying anything and offer him to try again. This is not to be done too many times in a row. If he crunches, chews or log rolls the pen 3 times in a row then back up to taking and releasing the pen several times for success and try again.
Once he's very good at taking and putting the pen in the other hand, start to add very small amounts of distance he needs to move his head to hand the pen to his handler. So, right now it's one hand handing the pen very close to his head, the other hand equally close taking the pen. Once he's good at that and clearly handing the pen over without chewing, crunching or rolling the hand that gets the pen moves 1/4 to 1/2 inch from his head and the process is taught again. Keep doing this until he can take up to 3 or 4 steps to hand the pen to the other hand and he's pressing it firmly into the receiving hand.
Meanwhile, if something is dropped that he has never retrieved before, give him the chance to pick it up and reward his efforts at doing so. So, if his handler drops a pill bottle lid and he tries to get it, but can't, still reward the effort and even tip the lid up a bit so he can try again. Do this quietly - ask him to get it and then stay quiet and don't talk to him as he tries to solve the problem.
We'll be seeing Murphy next month - I truly look forward to his progress!
Spirit is always a joy to work with. She's excited to see me and ready to work on whatever I want to train. She is silly and goofy in that way only a bully can be and she makes me laugh with her pure joy at living.
Spirit's owner is taking a trip in August and has arranged for her to stay with a board and train facility that I recommended. Spirit is not a good match for my dogs and I wanted to ensure that Spirit was in the care of someone I would entrust my dogs too.
The board and train facility requires that Spirit be crate trained and thus her handler bought her a brand new wire crate and bedding for it and has been working on her crate behaviors.
Last week I worked on Spirit stepping into the crate and turning to face me and then stepping out. I worked that up to her going in without a lure and on a hand cue and then attached a verbal cue to it. There is no distance on the cue, the person crating her needs to be next to the crate to get her to go in, but it's close enough to get her ready for the next stage.
I ended our first crate games with my handling the crate door and then swinging it partially closed and finally closing it, but not latching it, and then letting her out. I had worked up to 3 seconds duration with the door closed, but not latched, and instructed her owner to slowly, one second at a time, increase the duration. They got up to 30 seconds! Nice work.
Today I revisited the early steps of crating and then locked the first of two latches on the door and opened it and let her out. We got up to both latches thrown and my walking between 5 and 20 feet away (in and out of sight) without duration on my distance away from her and then opening the crate and letting her out. We continued to her staying in a closed crate up to 2 minutes while I walked around and clicked on an average of every 5 seconds and rewarding her good behavior.
Her homework is to build up to the duration of a commercial break while watching TV in the evenings with the family nearby and in sight. They are then to work up to the duration of the program between commercials and still nearby and in sight. The rate of reinforcement should begin high and slowly be extended until she needs only one or two treats for staying in the crate for several minutes.
If she does well then they are to build up to her being okay with them out of sight for one minute and increase duration with them out of sight. Once she is good at that they are to start by going out the front door and back in and letting her out of the crate and build up duration for being in the crate while they are not nearby or in the home.
I will be seeing Spirit on Saturday for her class and learn how her homework with the crate has gone for the week.
Spirit did well on entering the building and getting into her spot in the training center. She relaxed quickly on her mat and was focused on her handler. She was able to have one of the barriers removed so she could see two of the three dogs in the room and was curious but not reactive. She did spot the dog nearest her over the barrier and became predatory with the dog. We had to tether her to make both her and the other dog safe. She settled again and watched the other two dogs without problems for a long time, but when the puppy became highly excited Spirit once again became predatory and we had to set up the barrier we'd removed.
Spirit did, overall, very well in class. I don't know how she'd do meeting with another dog, but do feel right now is not a good time to try. She needs more LAT and BAT with a new dog to help her be a good citizen with other dogs. She is able to train and focus in class, but only for short times. I do see a lot of watching for any change in her enviornment and she shows an very distinct discomfort with being out in open spaces, such as being outside of the training center.
Spirit will be starting a new class in two weeks and will continue to work on her self control and focus during that class.
Minnie
I took Malcolm to help with Minnie's lessons. Minnie is only just beginning to believe I am safe and I don't have enough trust with her to work closely to her, though she's finally making eye contact with me and letting me do more distance work with her. I had planned on working targeting behaviors, but the plan changed on our arrival.
First off, Minnie is in week 5 of being in her new home and as predicted, her week 5 behavior change arrived. She feels like she's home and that she needs to defend her domain and Malcolm was an unwelcome intruder. She followed him about as he sniffed and explored the house (his brains fell out at the door, so we let him sniff around a bit to get them back) and growled and grumbled and told him in her own way that he was an intruder. Malcolm gave her the typical GSD look of "gosh your tiny" and went about his business.
I threw some treats at her and she calmed about him after a couple of minutes. After that, her only complaints with Malcolm would be when he was a bit too friendly for her liking. I did tell her owners that she was perfectly in her rights to tell Malcolm to back off when he was sniffing her too long or looming over her. Her communication is elegant and appropriate for the situation. At first it was a lot of grumbling with a lot of teeth showing (I called Malcolm away) and a single air snap to make her point. By the end of the lesson, when Malcolm came up to her to say hi one more time she gave him the hairy eyeball, which didn't work, so she lifted her lip, which got him to pull his head back a tiny bit and then bared her teeth and grumbled, which got him to leave (this all happened in about 2 seconds). She looked both surprised and pleased with herself and we all told her she did a good job telling that teenager he was being rude. I am glad to see Minnie has excellent dog/dog communication and was happy to explain what she was saying and why it's important to let her say it. Her owners have several dogs they desire to introduce her too and I said to never apologize for Minnie saying she doesn't want a strange dog invading her space and to respect her desire for space by giving it to her and taking her away from the dog when they see communication like that. I even said if she's giving a hairy eyeball to just go ahead and walk her a distance away, let the other dog walk somewhat ahead of her and give her time to decide if she wants to like the dog - if she doesn't that is perfectly okay.
Minnie's owners are taking her on vacation and bought her a portable crate. We worked on crate behaviors instead of the target behaviors I had planned on. She had no interest in the new crate, but by the end of the lesson she was in it with her bum firmly planted and we could lower the door behind her. She was making bold eye contact and working for me as I clicked and treated her. The family will work to zipping the crate and making it a safe and happy place for her for her travels.
After that I showed them how to build target up to touching something other than their hands. Minnie needs to learn to ask out and we are going to use a bell to do that. That means she needs to learn to target a post it note. Malcolm demoed that behavior and we talked about how fine to split the lessons for Minnie so she could succeed.
This week they will work on her basic skills when possible, but are focusing on crate behaviors to make her vacation more comfortable. They are to work in as small a slice as Minnie needs so they can bend down and start to zip the crate. I suggest they work it in multiple rooms as well. Teach her in different rooms in the house how to get into the crate, let the door down and work to zipping the crate so that she understands the exercise.
I will be seeing Minnie in two weeks to continue her lessons on how to live with her humans! I am so excited to see her full personality come out. Though she's got some fears, she's got many confidences also and I am glad to see she is finding her inner Min Pin/Dachshund and trusting she's safe and secure in her new home.
Buddy
Buddy's appointment was held at Riverfront park with the intention of working through the park and helping him focus on his handler. This changed when Malcolm, my SDiT, went behind my chair and loosened something that caused my chair to stop functioning. Instead, we parked near the resturaunt near the Carousel and worked on staying calm and focused while stationary. It wasn't the best place to begin the lesson for Buddy, but it was our only choice when my chair went down.
Coco
Coco has a resource guarding issue that we are aware of. I need to do research on how best to help her with it. When visiting with Coco she challenged Malcolm several times because he was near something she wanted - food, toy and her owner.
I took Malcolm to help with Minnie's lessons. Minnie is only just beginning to believe I am safe and I don't have enough trust with her to work closely to her, though she's finally making eye contact with me and letting me do more distance work with her. I had planned on working targeting behaviors, but the plan changed on our arrival.
First off, Minnie is in week 5 of being in her new home and as predicted, her week 5 behavior change arrived. She feels like she's home and that she needs to defend her domain and Malcolm was an unwelcome intruder. She followed him about as he sniffed and explored the house (his brains fell out at the door, so we let him sniff around a bit to get them back) and growled and grumbled and told him in her own way that he was an intruder. Malcolm gave her the typical GSD look of "gosh your tiny" and went about his business.
I threw some treats at her and she calmed about him after a couple of minutes. After that, her only complaints with Malcolm would be when he was a bit too friendly for her liking. I did tell her owners that she was perfectly in her rights to tell Malcolm to back off when he was sniffing her too long or looming over her. Her communication is elegant and appropriate for the situation. At first it was a lot of grumbling with a lot of teeth showing (I called Malcolm away) and a single air snap to make her point. By the end of the lesson, when Malcolm came up to her to say hi one more time she gave him the hairy eyeball, which didn't work, so she lifted her lip, which got him to pull his head back a tiny bit and then bared her teeth and grumbled, which got him to leave (this all happened in about 2 seconds). She looked both surprised and pleased with herself and we all told her she did a good job telling that teenager he was being rude. I am glad to see Minnie has excellent dog/dog communication and was happy to explain what she was saying and why it's important to let her say it. Her owners have several dogs they desire to introduce her too and I said to never apologize for Minnie saying she doesn't want a strange dog invading her space and to respect her desire for space by giving it to her and taking her away from the dog when they see communication like that. I even said if she's giving a hairy eyeball to just go ahead and walk her a distance away, let the other dog walk somewhat ahead of her and give her time to decide if she wants to like the dog - if she doesn't that is perfectly okay.
Minnie's owners are taking her on vacation and bought her a portable crate. We worked on crate behaviors instead of the target behaviors I had planned on. She had no interest in the new crate, but by the end of the lesson she was in it with her bum firmly planted and we could lower the door behind her. She was making bold eye contact and working for me as I clicked and treated her. The family will work to zipping the crate and making it a safe and happy place for her for her travels.
After that I showed them how to build target up to touching something other than their hands. Minnie needs to learn to ask out and we are going to use a bell to do that. That means she needs to learn to target a post it note. Malcolm demoed that behavior and we talked about how fine to split the lessons for Minnie so she could succeed.
This week they will work on her basic skills when possible, but are focusing on crate behaviors to make her vacation more comfortable. They are to work in as small a slice as Minnie needs so they can bend down and start to zip the crate. I suggest they work it in multiple rooms as well. Teach her in different rooms in the house how to get into the crate, let the door down and work to zipping the crate so that she understands the exercise.
I will be seeing Minnie in two weeks to continue her lessons on how to live with her humans! I am so excited to see her full personality come out. Though she's got some fears, she's got many confidences also and I am glad to see she is finding her inner Min Pin/Dachshund and trusting she's safe and secure in her new home.
Buddy's appointment was held at Riverfront park with the intention of working through the park and helping him focus on his handler. This changed when Malcolm, my SDiT, went behind my chair and loosened something that caused my chair to stop functioning. Instead, we parked near the resturaunt near the Carousel and worked on staying calm and focused while stationary. It wasn't the best place to begin the lesson for Buddy, but it was our only choice when my chair went down.
When we first saw Buddy he was laying calmly before his handler's chair and watching her. It was good to see he was focused despite the fact a lot of activity was happening around him. It was a couple of days before Hoopfest was to start and the park was being prepared for it with stands being built, supplies delivered and lots of workers running power into the park. Buddy was not worried by any of it.
When he noticed us he stood and lost his focus on his handler. This is a growing problem with Buddy. I had reported his age as 7 months when I first introduced him, but his handler double checked her paperwork and he's actually Malcolm's age. He doesn't have Malcolm's focus due to not training for it as hard as I did. It's not his handler's fault, this is her first run at training a service dog and not understanding the requirements of focus is something we all go through with our first dog. I did the same with Max and later regretted it.
He stood, went to the end of the leash and tried to pull to us and began barking with excitement. He's not aggressive in the least, but a frustrated greeter with poor impulse control for his age. He's been permitted to visit too long into his training and has become a social butterfly and as such vocalizes when he sees someone he likes.
He is improving, but it'll be a lot of work to turn him to focus on his handler and away from his friends. I let his handler work on regaining his focus while Malcolm and I stayed back and waited for him to become quiet. Each time he did we moved closer and soon were able to greet. Malcolm was able to remain calm and quiet during the entire greeting.
When my chair went down we worked on his laying quietly by his handler and being paid for not responding to people passing, trying to visit with me or Malcolm and staying focused on his handler. Buddy more than once came around and pawed me to get my attention. I did not give it to him and his handler got his attention back and rewarded it. Malcolm more than once tried to engage Buddy and I redirected him.
Though it wasn't the lesson we wanted, it gave me a lot of information. Buddy needs focus training, click for calm games and a stricter no visit policy to bring him into line for his upcoming job. He is working on Level 2 behaviors and I'll work every other week with his handler on that, but for now on his homework is:
- Pay for all attention to handler when given. Payment can be affection, praise or food since all are highly rewarding to Buddy.
- No longer permit him to visit people when he's in uniform. If he's "working" he's to be working and not socializing. As a Labrador he can become so people oriented he will be unable to work.
- Insist he stay in a down or sit when asked for one. If he is to lay quietly by the handler and then gets up, simply redirect him back to where he's to lay down and put him back in a down each time. Pay for his position every 3 to 7 seconds and when he's able to stay in a down up to 10 minutes begin paying him for his down every 10 to 15 seconds. Payment should be a small bite of food or kibble given in silence between his paws to encourage him to keep his position. If he stands do not pay him any food, but redirect him into a down, wait 1 to 2 seconds and then put the food between his paws.
- Continue working on Sit/Stay for now and build up a distance of 5 feet from him from the front, left and right position without him changing his position. If you don't understand, please contact me privately on my business Facebook page.
Buddy is clearly able to handler the busy atmosphere of his job, but needs the focus to be of help to his handler. I was informed when we brought Buddy his food for the month that his handler fell when he was out for a potty break. Normally he would wander away from her, but this time he sat next to her and refused to leave and even made attempts to help. Buddy is starting to understand he's to help her and is showing the bond needed to work as her assistant.
Buddy did, though, while we were there, escape from his home twice and run into the parking lot of his apartment complex, coming close to being run over when he ran straight at our car. He doesn't have proper door manners, so our next lesson will be to show how to train and install door manners for Buddy's safety.
Coco has a resource guarding issue that we are aware of. I need to do research on how best to help her with it. When visiting with Coco she challenged Malcolm several times because he was near something she wanted - food, toy and her owner.
I worked with her on this issue for the entire lesson. She did LAT and Group Zen with Malcolm and did improve, but we have a lot of work to make her safe around big dogs. Thankfully, Malcolm and Max are both used to small dogs and their reactions are to pull away or offer a sniff when a small dog snaps at them.
Coco will resume park walks and continue work on her resource guarding when the weather improves.
