August 18th - 24th, 2014

Missed Events:

Due to a flare in my disability I was unable to keep up with the business blog.  This does not mean I stopped working with clients, just that I was unable to keep up the information on how those client are doing.  I will give you a quick update on each client that I met between our last update and this one.

Dakota

Dakota came for a 4 day stay while her handler was attending personal needs.  Unlike Dakota's last visit in which we needed to work on handling, this visit required working on leash manners.  I worked on Dakota walking on a loose lead and not lunging at passing cars.  Dakota did improve and was walking on a loose lead by the end of her stay, but without consistency she will be unable to maintain the habit of keeping her lead loose.

We also worked on Level 1 behaviors.  Dakota is able to do Sit and Down on cue and has some level of Zen, though she needs to practice more.  Her recall is in need of work, so we played recall games and improved that also.  We also played the name game with her.

Dakota is scheduled for another stay at the end of the month.

Minnie

Minnie enjoyed a park walk in Riverfront Park and did very well.  Though worried about people, her trust in her owners is strong and she does a great job of checking in with them.  Minnie was scheduled for a 11 day stay with me while her owners went on a trip.

Minnie spent the 11 days meeting one or two new people per day.  She also went on field trips where we played LAT when we saw people or heard weird noises.  She was introduced to several new dogs and learned to recall when I worked with her in my yard.

Her confidence did improve during the stay and her trust in my grew daily.  By the end of her stay she was choosing to curl up with me and sought my attention on a regular basis.  I noted some separation anxiety, so when her owners are ready to begin working on that we will start Minnie's story again.  Minnie will be taking classes at Diamonds in the Ruff this fall.

Coco

Coco's confidence has greatly improved and she's enjoying her walks with her owner.  This coming winter we hope to work on her resource guarding and helping her settle into her new home.  Her owner had to move and they are now in a new home.  Coco will be continuing her story when her owner is ready to help her settle into her new living environment.

Buddy

Buddy was adopted by a loving family who desire to have him as a beloved pet dog.  Buddy's story with Tao Service Dogs is over.  We wish Buddy all the best.

Spirit

We continued to work on Spirit's ability to live with her feline companion, work on a leash without pulling and enjoy her crate.  Spirit spent 10 days at Northern Tails Dog Training.  Lisa Lucas, the owner, was able to get Spirit to walk nice on a lead.  Our biggest problem was getting Spirit's attention on a walk and her overpowering me with my balance issues.  Lisa was able to manage her pulling better than I could and did a great job of getting Spirit to understand how to walk nice on a lead.

Spirit will return to training to improve her confidence, loose lead walking and focus.

Bear and Kaylee

We were donated two new puppies.  Bear (male) and Kaylee (female) German Shepherd/Border Collie mixes.  I picked them up and took them to Kaylee's puppy raiser, my Mom.  Mom keep both puppies until August 21st, 2014.  Bear and Kaylee decided to play Tug-O-Dog with one of Mom's Pomeranians and she feared Shorty would be hurt.  Bear has moved into Tao Service Dog's facility for continued puppy raising.

Bear and Kaylee worked on crate training, house breaking, leash training and Level 1 behaviors while living with my Mom.

Current Events:

Bear

On August 21st, 2014 Bear moved in.  He's a 11 week old GSD/BC cross.  He is bold and outgoing.  Bear and Malcolm took to each other and played most of the day.  I watched to see what Bear needed most for settling into the household.

Bear has some resource guarding already.  I am crating him when he eats and no dog is closer than 4 feet from him when he's eating, but he's growling and barking over his bowl when he can see Max.  We'll work on making him feel secure about his meals around the other dogs.

He also snaps and bites the other dogs over toys.  We will make him feel secure with his toys.

He is peeing a lot, so we'll start him on cranberry capsules to clear up a mild bladder infection.

Leash work and basic impulse control need work.  Bear will spend the rest of this week settling into the household.

Bear did visit a friend's home on Saturday and another on Sunday for socialization with people and dogs.

Kaylee

Kaylee is doing lovely on her leash work.  She is also good on her other basic behaviors, but displays some resource guarding.  We'll see if it continues after being separated from her brother.

Kaylee's biggest problem is confidence.  We are doing confidence building games with Kaylee at this time.  Kaylee spent time learning the big dogs in my yard are safe and gaining confidence by playing LAT and doing Counter Conditioning.

Spirit

I worked with Spirit on walking on a loose lead.  Spirit worked on a loose lead from the start, THANK YOU LISA!  She was curious about her environment and we managed to walk 4 blocks away from home for the first time.  She noted changes in her environment, but trusted she was safe with me and accepted praise and sniffing as rewards for good behavior.

I worked with her owner on proper leash handling and how to keep Spirit feeling safe.  They will continue to work on loose leash walking and counter conditioning to environmental changes.

Murphy

Murphy is now retrieving most items his handler needs.  She is now working on directed retrieves and taking the already known and most needed items out to new surfaces to improve his retrieve skills.

A new dog moved into the apartment complex and Murphy is barking at him.  Murphy has been attacked twice by big dogs and this dog is a big dog.  We worked on LAT and Counter Conditioning with the new dog.  Murphy did well.  I showed his handler how to feed him through the new dog passing them and how to make Murphy feel safe when he must pass the big dog.

June 23rd - 28th, 2014

Murphy

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

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.

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

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.

June 15th - 21st, 2014

Chevy

I am sad to announce that Chevy  has been Career changed to a home companion/pet dog.  After spending another week trying to get him engaged with shaping, responding to the clicker and his name I am left with the feeling that something is not clicking in Chevy's mind and he's simply not engaged with the humans around him.  He needs someone with different skills in training dogs than I have.

I mentioned to his owners that I felt he may have some hearing impairment.  My mother, myself and Ronda all noted that Chevy is not tracking sounds with his ears like the other dogs are and doesn't respond to certain pitches within the mid-range of sounds.  He doesn't make eye contact, do check ins and shows little interest in what we are doing as we proceed through our day.

He is also extremely reactive to movement of any sort.  He cannot be near you when you are sweeping with a broom, cannot control himself around cats and actually dislocated my trick shoulder when he saw a dog and drug me almost half a block trying to get to it.  Chevy is not service dog material.

Chevy will be living with his loving family and enjoy a life as a pampered pet.

Spirit

It is a pure joy to work with a dog who loves to play the game! Spirit is funny, playful and loves to work for both food and toys. She's an utter joy to work with.

I spent about two hours with her on Tuesday working on crate games (her handler bought her a brand new wire crate! How lucky is this dog?!) and we got up to offering to enter the crate, turn to look at me and watching as I closed the door for a second (no latch involved) and then open it and offer her to come out. She got up to 3 seconds with the door shut, both standing and laying down (I cued the down). At one point she offered to lay quietly in her crate while the door was open and rested with her chin on the edge of the open doorway for a good 30 seconds! Nice.

We worked on Sit, Down and Target while playing ball and even Sit/Stay with my walking around her left to right and right to left and up to 10 feet away from her before returning and stepping into heel position.

We worked on loose lead walking by having her find the sweet spot beside me without a leash on and worked on turning left and right in a controlled manner.

She enjoyed every single minute of our lesson. We played tug, threw the ball, mud wrestled when I sat on the floor with her and had lots of laughs.

Spirit is a pure joy to work with. I told her she was WAY more energy than I would ever desire to work with full time, but she sure was fun to borrow once a week!

Spirit still is dealing with sound sensitivity issues. She finds thunder, hail and large trucks frightening. She is also more confident in the home than out, but is slowly discovering all kinds of good can happen outside of the home. She is attending her Headstart class at Diamonds in the Ruff - Training for Dogs & Their People and I attend with her and her handler. She was too distracted by the other people and dogs to work on her lessons in class, but did very well with seeing all of the chaos and even fell asleep by the end of class.

Her next class is Saturday and I'll continue to attend classes with her and her handler.

I look forward to my lessons with Spirit.

Coco

Oh my, what is it about these tiny dogs that make me laugh so hard!

Coco had me laughing almost to the point of tears on Wednesday. It was raining cats and dogs (I saw it...trust me) on Wednesday, so we had an indoor lesson on basic obedience. I brought Malcolm, who threw Coco for a loop when he played with her squeaky hedgehog and was also getting treats.

We used Malcolm to build up the mechanics of luring a Sit, Down and Stand. Malcolm, Mr. I Can Do It, was lovely as a demo. Coco was funny as a tiny dog proving that theory and application are so different.

She was focused, working and in the moment with the treats in my hand, but her backend refused to dip to the floor, her front end couldn't get her back end to follow it down to the floor and she was going from trying for the treat to giving Malcolm the hairy eyeball and back to her treat time and again.

We never did lure a sit or a down, though I got really close to a lovely bow. We were laughing so hard we couldn't really solve the ratio of tiny dog and lure to get the full effect of the lesson, but her owner will work on down and sit with Coco so she has them for when going out and about.

We worked on Group Zen with Malcolm, since Coco was not happy Malcolm was granted treats for breathing (ask her, she's convinced that was why we were giving them to him) and she soon ignored him as she realized the game was fair and she got a treat each time she pulled away and waited patiently for me to deliver them into her mouth.

I would say, we spent 90% of our time laughing. Coco is working Level 1 in the Training Levels and we'll begin working on her resource guarding of toys and food to make her a better hostess when a visiting dog comes by.

We'll return to working in Riverfront Park once the weather is drier!

Minnie

Minnie went on her first park walk at Manito Park. We met there by the duck pond. Malcolm and Jack came along for the walk.

Malcolm's brain fell out somewhere between my home and the park and would not return until tonight. Jack was lovely!
Minnie was excited and exploring when we wheeled up in my power chair. Her family was excited for the walk and reported her daily walks in her neighborhood were going great.

Minnie has some worry about strangers, but can ignore them and keep her confidence as long as they are not too close. Children are more of a problem for her, but she's not reactive to them, just more concerned. Traffic and bicycles don't bug her in the least.

She was upbeat with her ears in a great position, her tail loose and happy over her back (it's standard position) and her body tall (for a six inch dog). She enjoyed sniffing and walking with her people.

She walks well on the lead and pays very good attention to her owners. She did lots of check ins when something was a bit new and got loads of timely rewards for good behavior.

She was worried about Jack when she first met him, but in the end was not concerned by him and walked comfortably with him.

She and her owners have a great relationship now and I commented that I have seen, week by week, a growing confidence in her. This is her fifth week living in her new home and her bond and trust in her owners has clearly grown each week and their relationship has been steadily built on positive interactions and trust building exercises.

The truth of how much better she felt came out in then of our walk. As she left with owners I suddenly heard them laughing and there she was, on the end of her lead, having a rousing round of the rips and was zooming as fast as her tiny legs could carry her around them while her owner did a fabulous spin to give her the freedom to run her tiny hear out. She had pure joy on her face and played this game for a good 3 minutes before she happily trotted off with them laughing with her.

She even clothes-lined herself on her dad's legs and just stopped to look up at with a "why'd you do that?" look and then took off happily in the other direction. She wears a harness, so she was never harmed, but she clearly was surprised dad had stopped her happy run with mom.

There is nothing more enjoyable than a dog who finds it sense of humor and feels secure enough to do it in the middle of a public location!

I'll be seeing Minnie to work on house breaking issues, building recall and other skills she'll need for a long and happy life with the best parents a tiny could could ask for. I am so proud of this family for taking the time to build a relationship using positive methods with their newly adopted family member.

Buddy

Buddy is still just as wiggly as ever. I watched as Buddy loaded off of the public transit van. He was doing great until he spotted me and then suddenly he jumped off the lift and wanted to get to me. Okay, time to work on impulse control some more.

His handler said she reviewed his medical records and realized he was 10 months and not 8 months like we thought. That's okay, he's doing great at 10 months and his outlook on life is fantastic.

I have to say his desire to work for people, his love for training and his focus is refreshing after working with reserved Mr. Chevy.

This is what Buddy needs to work on:

He has Sit and Down nicely, he's now building distance with Sit and will, on our next visit, start duration with Down. Right now, he is working on his handler moving 5 feet from him while he's sitting. She'll start with moving away when he's facing her and then to his left and his right. She is also working on walking around him left to right and right to left to help him understand he's to hold his position.

He's working on Zen with duration. He knows to get a treat he needs to move his nose away from the hand, but he doesn't know he's to wait until we click or say yes for the treat. He is to work up to 5 seconds with a closed hand and then 5 seconds with an open hand.

He's working on leash work. He tends to walk sideways watching his handler or pulls to go forward and hurry her up. He is working on learning where the sweet spot is beside her and walking in a controlled manner. I may need to spend time with him building up the behavior and then have it transfer to his handler.

He has a lovely recall, but he tends to not recall to his handler. We are working on Come to get him to answer her better when she calls.

Things to note:

He's very excitable and as a Lab he loves everyone. He's been allowed to socialize a lot and now should be taught he's only allowed to socialize when given permission. He's not to start contact with other people, but wait for permission or ignore them.

He's still barking at other dogs when he sees them (this has been a running theme with my SDiTs in the program) and needs a lot of LAT and redirection to get him to ignore other dogs.

He's highly excitable and needs a lot of reinforcement for calm behavior. I'll work on this with his handler to help her build up a calmer dog overall.

I love Buddy's attitude and joy in being out in the world. I look forward to our walk and work in Riverfront Park next week.

June 9th - 14th, 2014

Due to how far behind I am, I will be paraphrasing what happened during these appointments and the work the dogs are doing.

Chevy

Chevy spent the weekend with me and worked hard on his learning his name and basic manners.  I began focused training during the weekend, but noted that Chevy was not cluing into the clicker.  I also noted he was starting to look when his name was said, but not consistently.

We worked on Level 1 of Sue Ailsby's Training Levels: Steps to Success and shaping.  Chevy never fully engaged in the training game during the entire week.  As a matter of fact, Chevy was more disengaged than anything.  I tried different foods to find his "doggy crack" and different toys, praise and play and many things to find what motivated him, but I simply wasn't having any success.  This is not a failure on Chevy's part, but mine.  I simply couldn't find what made Chevy tick.

He did a lot of play with Malcolm and visited at Ronda's house to play with Jack.  He enjoyed the games, but I was starting to have something brew in the back of my brain that I would only realize the following week.

I assigned rewarding for all good behaviors, all check ins and the Name Game for the weekend when I sent Chevy home.  I noted that he was happy to see his family, but not over the top excited.  That too would brew through my mind for a while before it came to the surface.

Spirit

Spirit and I worked on Go To Mat during her lesson.  Spirit has a lot of energy and greets people with her full joy of being alive and we are working on proper door manners.  Her owner is doing great at teaching her to sit and wait, but she's having problems with self control.

We got a solid mat behavior started and discussed the use of a Manners Minder for her.  I introduced her to one and she happily took to it.  Her homework was mat behaviors for the week.

She had class on Saturday and I met her owner at the training facility to help if needed.  Spirit was highly distracted and unable to work in the new environment.  We worked on focus and relaxation during class and sent her home with her class homework for the week.

Jewels

I didn't directly work with Jewels but instead took Malcolm out to work on mechanics of 1-2-3 Treat, luring into a sit, down and stand and the Come Game.

Minnie

Minnie met Malcolm for the first time.  She was worried about him at first, but after a short time relaxed and asked to join the training game.  Her confidence is improving week by week and she's now fully engaged with both her owners.

We reviewed her previous homework and with Malcolm introduced 1-2-3 Treat and worked on the mechanics of the lesson.  We then brought Minnie out and worked on 1-2-3 Treat and LAT and discussed any other concerns the family had for her.  We ended with arranging to meet the next week at Manito Park for a park walk.

Buddy/Coco

I had Coco, Buddy, Malcolm and Jack all work Riverfront park together.  Jack and Coco worked as a team while Ronda, my business partner, monitored how Coco was doing and I worked with Buddy's handler.

Buddy was still barking at strange dogs and pulling hard, so we worked on LAT and focus and got him tuned into his handler.  We then worked on walking nice by her chair and worked around the park.  Buddy did fantastic.

Coco was unfazed by the slightly busier park during our morning walk and enjoyed her exploration of the bridges, grassy areas and walkways.  We kept her away from a large crowd which had loud speakers and lots of noise, but otherwise she was doing fantastic.  She had a small problem with a tunnel we went through, so on our next outing to the park we'll work on making her more comfortable with the tunnel and explore more of the park.

Yoda

Yoda and Chevy were not a good match, so I ended up crating Chevy during Yoda's lesson.  Yoda worked on long Down/Stay and Sit/Stay.  He's more relaxed and more focused now that his owner's hand cues are clearer and he's giving Yoda a chance to relax and settle into the lesson.

Yoda was sent home with homework to work on the Up/Down Game and rewards for all check ins to improve his focus and desire to work with his handler.

June 2nd - 6th, 2014

Chevy/Max

Monday

Chevy is a 7 month old German Shepherd training to become a service dog.  He has struck the developmental stage of barking at dogs and children and due to health reasons, his handler has been unable to DS/CC him for the issues.  Since his socialization and training is behind, she has asked that Tao Service Dogs board and train him.

I took Max out to Chevy's home to see how serious Chevy's dog issues were.  I cannot bring an aggressive dog into my home.  I have a small dog, Dieter, who weighs only 15 pounds and is 16 years old - I will not risk his safety with a dog I don't know how it will behave with him.  Chevy's owner is overwhelmed and felt his problems were very serious and wasn't sure if he could be helped.  Max, my best neutral dog, went with me to evaluate if Chevy could come into my home to live.

Chevy was in his crate when I arrived and after a couple of barks from his crate, was silent while I did the intake portion of the appointment. We talked about what Chevy's training would be like, what to expect and that no promises could be made.  Though Force Free Training is fast and effective, it's not a magic bullet and a single session or even a single week will not change a dog's emotional response, especially if it is fear based.  Chevy's reactions stem from a bad experience at a groomers and advise given that increased his fears - I don't blame his handler in the least.  We all work with what we know and if we don't know different we can't do any differently.  His handler will be learning new training techniques, but she did what she was taught by another individual and thought was best for her dog.  Thankfully, she's a gentle soul and he's not been damaged beyond hope - he just needs more instruction on proper behavior at this time.

We then brought Chevy out and he tried to jump on Max's head.  He's a big boy and very strong and his handler is a small woman who is weakened by her disability.  I can see why this felt so overwhelming and seemed so frightening.

Malcolm likes his new friend.

We placed a Gentle Leader on him, got both boys at a distance from each other and I tried to offer him treats.  He couldn't take them with Max nearby and so I praised him for good behavior, asked him to inform me when his brains returned and simply waited out his over-excitement at seeing a new dog.  What they believed was aggression is actually a combination of fear, lack of confidence in a new situation and excitement.  He simply expresses it differently than Malcolm did at the same age.

It took Chevy about 5 minutes to get his brains back, 10 minutes to take treats and 15 minutes before he and Max could be off lead together and just hang out.  By the end of our appointment he was sleeping with Max in his own home and he was laying less than six inches from Max doing so.  This told me that yes, Chevy was able to come and what I would need to do to keep his impulses under control and my dogs safe.

We arranged for them to bring Chevy the next morning for board and train.  I asked we change his collar, since he's on a martingale and at risk for his safety in my home when playing with Malcolm.  They also had him on food not appropriate for his age and we agreed to change him to a food best suited for him.  He'll be eating the same food my dogs do.  They provided me with funds for food and a collar for him.

They play well together.

Tuesday

Chevy arrived at 8:00 AM.  I had spoken with Kim Imel about bringing a pup who is a bit of a nut about dogs into a home with Malcolm and she suggested placing the big crate on the deck and something super high value for him to eat in the crate and let him chill until he calmed about Chevy.  It was a great idea and I did a minor modification.  I have a Manners Minder and so I loaded it with his kibble and took the crate, Manners Minder and remote outside with me.  I set the Manners Minder to dispense a treat once every second when set on auto - for rapid reinforcement - and set it near the opening of the crate just inside.

When Chevy arrived I took Malcolm out of the house, crated him and locked the crate and ignored the barking he started and just his auto dispense on the Manners Minder while I let Max out.  Malcolm's barking became staggered and short and soon he was dead silent at the Manners Minder faithfully dispensed treats while Emma and Dieter came out to meet Chevy and I spoke with his owners.  Chevy was still on lead, but he was calm and handling his new family well and Malcolm had become a silent witness as he waited for the next rapid fire beep from the Manners Minder.

I gave Malcolm a couple of minutes of calm behavior in the crate and brought him out.  I had expected him to be over excited still, but he wasn't - instead he was excited but calm enough to just go say his hellos.

Chevy at first didn't know what to do with Malcolm and got a bit aggressive with Malcolm's forward greeting.  I had released Chevy so the leash wouldn't cause leash aggression and when Chevy got pushy with Malcolm just took his Gentle Leader and attached his leash and held him with me until he was calm.

I spoke with his owners for a bit, reassured them he'd be fine and then sent them on their way.  Thirty minutes after they left Malcolm and Chevy were playing and by an hour after they left everyone had settled in nicely.

I packed up 2 cups of kibble in my pouch and spent the day playing the Name Game, rewarding behavior I liked, any check ins he did and if needed simply tethered him to me or put him up in the big crate if he got over tired.  He ate 1 cup of food from the pouch and 1 cup of food from the bowl during the day and 2 cups of food for his evening meal.  He's a bit gassy, but otherwise, he's been a joy to have as a guest at Tao Service Dogs.

Chevy is working on Level 1 behaviors, Name Game, pre- recall (learning to come when the other dogs are called to me) and socialization.

Wednesday

So, my morning started at 6:30 AM with Chevy stabbing me in the cheek with his snout and then nuzzling me firmly (very) and then flopping on my head, shifting off of me and finally "sneaking" between the top of my hand and my headboard, which he managed with my muttering into my pillow that was being rude.  Mind you, a 70 pound German Shepherd with the worst coordination I've seen in ages, doesn't sneak well.

Today was a play day at the house while Chevy settled in and Emma got her emotional balance again.  He is doing very well.  He needs to learn not to put his feet on my counter without permission and that boldly taking garbage out of my bins in the bathroom right in front of me is not really going to work, but he is a remarkably sound dog with a soft nature.

He's playing well with the other dogs and after redirecting yesterday has stopped trying to mount Emma.  He heard children playing, watched children get on and off the school bus and pass the house, witnessed traffic, heard dogs barking and met my Mom and brother. He was warm and welcoming to them.

He's eating well, crating well when I need to leave and learning how to be alone without fear.  He's enjoying rousing games of Catch Me If You Can and does a lot of walking, exploring and moving.  I am seeing improved coordination in his back legs and overall. He's not as clumsy as yesterday and is gaining more puppy behavior in his play and overall attitude.

Tonight I had to laugh at him.  I have a German Shepherd statue that holds a lantern in it's mouth in my garden bed and he saw it for the first time tonight.  He was doing the full, "that thing is freaky" behavior.  Body stretched to it's limit, low and stiff as he tried to decide if the miniature German Shepherd would harm him.  It took him about 3 minutes to process the object and then he was fine.  He's had things (a box) fall on his head and no reaction.  I dropped a metal bowl right next to him and he just looked at it. For the most part, he's unflappable, but he's still very young and needs socialization.

Tomorrow I see a client with a well socialized (to dogs) dog and will take him.  It's time he begin the next exposure to dogs now that he's good at hearing them.

He's doing well and I enjoy his company...though he really needs to learn not to walk on me when I am in bed!

Thursday

Well, he does have a sense of humor.  He has been bringing his ball to me and very gently laying on my patio table and watching it roll and then looking at me with great anticipation.  We've played a few games of fetch off and on since late Wednesday.  He has also put the tennis ball in my garden bed, repeatedly, on the crook of my arm when I am typing and tonight on the cold barbecue grill while I was scraping in in preparation for cooking my dinner.  He also set it gently in one of my planter boxes as I was working on it.  I find myself laughing at him a lot.

He discovered, again, my cat.  This time she was on her cat post outside eating her dinner.  I turned to find him with his feet up on the top of the post nervously trying to sniff her.  My cat is one of those mixed bags of blessings.  She arrived when she was only 8 weeks old and weighing a whopping 1.6 pounds with a full blown eye and chest infection.  Someone had thrown her into my yard, most likely in hopes my dogs would kill her, and I never did have the heart to send her to a new home - even though I am not really a cat person.  She was unsocialized and needed loads of work to make her a pet cat - she still doesn't like physical contact, is shy around strangers and trusts me enough to pick up and carry her or pet her, but mostly hangs around the house expecting me to feed her.  She can be calm and quiet with the dogs or spooky and running.  She can allow them to sniff her and then bash their noses or nuzzle them.  She can walk calm and confident through the house or like a spooky cat begging to be chased.  Malcolm is cat proof.  It doesn't matter her mood, he doesn't see cats as something to chase in my home and thus ignores them 99% of the time.  So, Chevy, who like Max, thinks there are only one type of cat, the chasing kind, is now nose to nose with my cat and she's calmly sniffing his nose, I am certain in a moment things will turn south; I wasn't disappointed.

Victoria, my cat, suddenly bashed him on the nose several times and puffed up and arched in a perfect Halloween cat pose.  Chevy, who'd put his feet back on the patio slab, watched her for a second and then began barking at her to make her run.  She hissed and arched up into an even more classic pose.  It took my stepping in and herding him around the yard for a while before he decided he was to ignore the cat.  No further problems were met.  This was the end of our day - after a long day of activity for Chevy.  He has been fully evaluated and I see some serious holes in his training, but overall, I am pleased with the dog before me.

This morning Chevy attended his first client consult.  He met Curly, a Labrador Retriever who is pretty unflappable when it comes to other dogs.  Curly has other concerns in his life, but overall, Curly is pretty unflappable when it comes to other dogs.  Chevy barked and couldn't take treats for a good 15 minutes after meeting Curly.  We put distance between them, but I suspect Curly would have to be on another continent in order for Chevy to take treats.  His Fight or Flight instinct currently cuts off all thought process and ability to eat when triggered.  Instead I used a form of BAT to help him.  We would step out, see Curly and step back out of sight of Curly for a few minutes and then went into the building and I tethered him and kept Curly on the other side of the room.  By the time he could take treats he was already calming down.  In the end, he was able to lay quietly with Curly on the other side of the room and take the treats I placed between his feet for his silences.

He did have more barking when Curly stood, sat up and moved, but each time he recovered faster and was able to relax again on the floor and watch.  He was allowed to greet Curly once, but after an excellent greeting he quickly escalated into "I am over excited" and tried to jump on Curly's head.  I walked him away and spent the rest of the consult rewarding heavily for watching Curly and being quiet. 

After that appointment we came back and I picked up the yard from dog waste and toys.  I had to use my grab stick and Mr. Teenage Dog had to snap and bite it.  It wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't so deadlocked on getting it and I had to finally insist he stop so I could do my work.  Where Malcolm quickly ended the game when I told him too when I first used it, Chevy doesn't have an off switch or impulse control to help him just watch and not react.  One hole in his training - impulse control on all areas of his life - he simply doesn't have it yet.

Next came the young man who helps with the yard once a week.  He arrived with a lawn mower and wearing a baseball cap while wearing a full beard. The sight of him entering the yard and pushing that mower was a bit much and Chevy spooked and ran away.  He did this two or three times.  He'd spook, run off, return, spook and run off and then repeat the behavior.  On the fourth return he started to bark and charge the lawn mower and Josh a bit.  I don't think he could separate Josh from the mower and he was truly frightened.  I took his collar and led him away and held him at a distance until he calmed and Josh had stopped moving the mower.  I then let him go explore the mower.  He was doing the same "that is freaky" behavior he had the night before with the statue, but with a lot more retreating then he'd done the previous evening.  He soon realized the mower was not evil and then checked Josh, once again spooked and then decided that Josh wasn't evil and shied away.

I let him watch Josh start the mower and see if his discomfort with the mower would keep him away from it when it was running.  No such luck, the moment it started Chevy challenged it to a duel and was quickly placed on lead and spent the rest of the mowing experience beside me.  He wasn't afraid of the mower any longer and had completely relaxed by me as Josh mowed.

When Josh was done he came and sat for a few minutes and Chevy, who'd been spooked by him only 10 minutes before (small yard) climbed in his lap and gave him a total snuggle fest.  Go figure.  Josh used the weed trimmer and I again kept Chevy on lead.  When he finished we packed up the dogs and Josh and went to Auntie Ronda's house.

Ronda has 5 dogs.  Sheba, a crippled 10 year old German Shepherd.  Chautzie, a 14 year old Rottweiler mix.  Deva, a 7 year old German Shepherd.  DJ, a 9 year old Dachshund.  Jack, a 2 year old Standard Poodle.  The only dog Chevy had problems with when we first arrived was Deva, who was barking at the fence as we approached.  Ronda snapped a lead on her and walked her far away and Chevy entered the yard after watching Max, Malcolm and Emma run happily about the mix of new friends.

It took Chevy about 1 hour to completely settle.  Jack was thrilled to meet him and said a friendly hello and Chevy was shy, but appropriate in his hello.  He ignored Sheba and didn't notice DJ.  It was Chautzie, who walked up to him while he was on lead and freaked him out.  She was not charging him (she can't, she doesn't move well) and was clearly just going to say a quiet and proper hello and Chevy panicked.  It took a little bit to calm him, but once he did he was able to play off lead and even greet Chautzie.  It took him longer to find out that Jack was asking him to play.  He would run away from Jack and to me for protection for almost an hour before suddenly he was wrestling with Malcolm and Jack together, playing Catch Me If You Can and exploring quietly with them.

Josh mowed Ronda's yard and during the 30 to 40 minutes it took Chevy was loose and totally ignored the mower.  Mission accomplished.

Chevy has been settling into the family and I have been working on learning his needs and what should be worked on first.  It's impulse control and communication.  He has no clue that he shouldn't be a bull in a china shop and pushes his way past, whether you block him or not.  He takes things before you bold as brass and today alone I had him put his feet on my counter and try to steal the lid from a can of pet food while his shoulder was touching my ribs and tonight he reached out to my plate and took the bread off the top of my sandwich while I was watching him.  When asked to move out of the way he just stands like a lump and last night I had to drag him like a sack of potatoes across my bed to get MY spot back because he refused to move.  Impulse control and communication.

Chevy will continue to stay with me and learn the basics of living in a house with a full rule structure.  He's adjusting to the new living arrangements, but has a lot to learn to be a good guest in any home or business.  This is going to be a fun dog to train.

Friday

Update coming soon

Saturday/Sunday

Update coming soon

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	1	1	1	1	1

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	Complete	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	Complete	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	Complete	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

Spirit

I want to put a click out to Spirit's parents! What a great job you are doing as a family with Spirit. What a change in her since the last time I saw her!

They have reduced her overall stress by pulling back on her public access to areas she's extremely comfortable with and are paying her heavily for calm behaviors. After our lesson on Friday I came today to see the note I had suggested for company asking for patience while Spirit learns door manners and watched her handler work extra hard on teaching Spirit how to greet me without breaking her stay. She's not there, but she's so much better than she's been! They are doing their homework and it shows!

She's also been working on learning leash manners, company manners ("Don't jump on Grandma!" manners) and has started DS/CC with sounds, children and people in general.

Today I brought Max's Thundershirt for her to use and see if she responded to it. I have NEVER seen a dog respond like she did. I put it on her and within 2 minutes she went from hyper out of control to calm and half asleep on the floor dog. There was a moment of realization she felt better, a small yawn and then she stood slowing her breathing and then calmly laid down and relaxed completely. I have NEVER seen anything like it and it was amazing to see her owner pull up the website for the Thundershirt and order one on the spot!

We left it on her for 15 minutes while we caught up on events, how she was doing and what they've done different to help Spirit deal with her world. Her handler is doing a form of BAT with their walks. Spirit is allowed to tell her that something is too much and change direction and go somewhere else and not deal with the scary thing. I said that was lovely and was pleased to hear she's improved on cars passing, bicycles and joggers. Skateboards are too much, so when one happened Spirit decided a wooded walk would be best and they headed home that way. Great job, Team!

They have been rewarding all of her good behavior and she's made a huge leap in understanding of what is asked of her. She's not jumping on the child in the home like she used too near as much and a simple redirection or short tethering has resolved most of that issue for the family.

She did leave the upstairs during last nights thunderstorm, so we discussed the Thundershirt and the best times to use it. Garbage day, when company first arrives and thunderstorms are what she needs help with, so they'll use it for that. She is also going to wear it for low level public access in a new area where she's doing a go in and come out training session.

Her owner bought her Through A Dog's Ear for garbage day and other times they wish to calm her and is now playing it to help her relax in the home also. Lovely!

We worked on loose lead walking, Zen, Target and It's Yer Choice today. She's passed Level 1 Zen! Way to go team! She is doing uch better on Target and I am seeing improved nose contact, just not consistent contact yet. She's improved on LLW, but now needs to begin formal training now that she knows there's a person on the other end of the leash.

She is no longer trying to drag me back to the home and we ended out outside time with her walking 100% loose lead to the house, performing a sit before the steps and calmly walking into the home.

We had a man appear suddenly and though she was interested, she was not over threshold and could take treats the entire time we were outside. She heard a siren, gunshots and buzz saw and only the saw bothered her. She's recovering faster, but not completely yet.

Spirit is doing fantastic and with the support of her family, she may find her inner Boxer!

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	Complete	1	1	Complete	Complete

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	1	0	1	1	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

Jewels/Malcolm

Due to an unexpected emergency, Jewels' appointment was cancelled.  She continues to work on last weeks homework.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	5	1	2	Complete	1

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	1	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

Minnie/Max

What a change between week 1 and week 2!  Last week Minnie avoided looking at me when I looked at her, was quiet and withdrawn and spent most of her time watching instead of asking to join the party.  Not this week. She was standing tall, animated, making direct eye contact, willing to work with me and take treats from my hands, excited to play our games and simply relaxed!  She's a whole new dog already!  What a great job, Team!

Minnie worked on learning to switch sides when passing a dog on the sidewalk to make her walks more comfortable.  Sometimes we can't avoid passing another dog, and we silly humans walk right up to other people and dogs and walk in straight lines.  Dogs on the other hand walk to each other in arches and zig zag as they explore their world.  In a perfect world, a dog walking along the street would see another and both would create a C to approach and meet.  We humans walk them face to face without so much as a how do you do and expect them to be okay with it.  Some can be, but stoic little dogs like Minnie find an ever changing world hard to process and find such direct meetings uncomfortable and frightening even.  Learning to switch from one side of her human to another permits her the C she needs, the space she requires and a barrier to increase her sense of safety.  Practicing it when she's not faced with a new dog makes those times that she needs to pass a dog on her walks easier.  Her owners are good about giving her greater space when it's needed, but sometimes life happens and a quick easy way to prevent a head on meeting is needed.  Both worked very diligently at learning the mechanics and will only get better at the dance with Minnie when they practice.

We discussed what worked well for them.  The Up/Down Game was one of Minnie's favorites and she has gained an overall calm playing it.  She is learning through Target that hands are fun and safe and has relaxed when hands reach for her.  They had problems with LAT so we reviewed it and then put a plan into motion for using it at home when people pass on the sidewalk.

We then discussed putting her harness on.  She loves her walks, but finds putting her harness on a bit scary.  They will try having her lay in their lap and put it on with her facing away from them.  It doesn't go over her head, so this should stop her feeling loomed over when the required bending to slip it on happens from the front.

We discussed and worked a bit on shaping.  They are going to play fun shaping games to open up her body movements and let her know she can do things to make them click.

It was a great session and Minnie is making great progress.  She is on week 3 of being newly adopted into her family and with this positive training she is trusting them more each day.  What a gift they've given this stoic girl.

Minnie continues to work on Level 1 Target, Sit and Down and will begin using LAT with people passing her home and triggers on her walk.  She is also beginning shaping this week to get her thinking and learning she can make correct choices.

Curly/Chevy

Today I told Curly's owner he's been career changed to a home companion.  It is best for Curly and the family at this time.  Curly needs help learning to be a dog secure in his skin and I am seeing that, but he is unable to process the ever changing world public access asks of him.  It is unfortunate Curly was sent to them as young as he was with as little socialization he had and they were told he was ready to begin full time work.  Curly's owners are not to blame.  They didn't know he wasn't ready, they had been told otherwise, it is the people who sent a young pup who hadn't grown up himself out into the world without the tools he needed to cope with it.

When I met Curly he appeared withdrawn and disconnected, but slowly relaxed and fell asleep while his handler and I spoke. I recognized his age as a factor, he was in a fear period and was being asked to perform a job for an adult dog without the skills or tools needed for the job.  I had mentioned then I didn't know if he could recover and if he could gain the confidence needed for his job.  His job required a specialized bond between him and his handler and at the time both did not have it.

The next time I saw Curly he was still very worried about his world and where he was.  He was no longer with his handler, but a family member who lives with him, and he hadn't yet bonded with his handler nor his handler with him.  I saw, what other trainers had seen also, a dog near shutdown with furrowed brows, lack of eye contact and strong avoidance behaviors.  He'd been living with his new family for 5 months by this time and was only just forging a bond with the person bringing him in to meet with me, but not his handler.

He's very leery of people in general.  He avoids eye contact with people he doesn't know or doesn't know well and he pulls into himself and makes himself small when someone approaches him.  He was even doing so with the person who had brought him in, though not as seriously as he did with me.  I am using as much of a hands off approach with him as possible because of his fears.

I had seen him when he first exits the car in a new area and he's worried about his environment.  He was, the first time, more concerned about his safety than he was about the people he was in and had zero interest in his handler.  On our second meeting he was still watching for his safety, but no longer slung low to the ground, just reluctant to move about.  On this meeting he was happier to be at the training facility.  This would be his fourth official visit to the location and the first time he'd be anywhere close to comfortable being there.  A service dog must be able to adjust quickly to new locations and remain confident.  He is unable too due to his concern for his safety in any new location he goes too and the fact it takes 4 positive visits to a quiet location tells me how badly he'll handle a busy one.

He's afraid of chairs moving.  Asking him to tuck under a table in a restaurant or banquet would be close to torture for him. If moving a single chair in the home sends him flying out of the room, how can we expect him to be comfortable with the clatter and chair movement that happens in such settings and directly next to him.

The fact he's leery of strangers and shows fear signs when one moves towards him is a key factor as to why he can't work in public.  He has been working in public and he shutdown.  The stress of working in public would adversely affect his health and destroy his trust in the people caring for him.  His handler is no longer taking him in public and the change in him today when he wasn't flooded by triggers (noises, changing locations and people) was dramatic.  He, for the first time, did not have a furrowed brow.  He was more animated and was making direct and prolonged eye contact with his owner.  He was physically relaxed, was able to participate in training and didn't flinch or withdrawal when his owner reached for him.  Taking those stressors out of his life has improved it dramatically.

Curly is now working on confidence building skills so he can enjoy the life of a home companion.  He can provide comfort to his handler and even learn an alert to tell his owner (handler is the disabled person he was to help, owner is the person he bonded with) if the handler needs help in the night, but he simply isn't cut out for the type of service work he was supposed to do.  The fact that his handler never bonded with him only adds to that equation - without that bond, the type of service work Curly was to do cannot work because he would cause stress instead of relieve it.

He will continue to use the Up/Down Game to help him process a sudden change in his environment.  He will also continue to use LAT to help him with any triggers he encounters.  He will use 1-2-3 Treat to help him get out of situations or past triggers when needed. He's learning how to switch from one side to another to give space when passing a dog or person on a sidewalk to increase his sense of safety.  He's working on Level 2: Step 2 Down and Sit and Level 1: Step 1 Zen, Come and Target.  He has started Level 2: Steps 1 and 2 Lazy Leash.

Curly will return next month to continue learning how to be a good companion in his new home.  He is very fortunate that he's loved and his new adopted family wants the best for him.  Curly's career change is at no fault of his new family, but an underlying lack of socialization and unintentional flooding when placed with his family due to being released to work in public before he was ready.

I do want to give a click to his new owner.  The clear connection and trust that is building between him and her is a true sign of her doing her homework and giving him the guidance he needs to feel safe with her.  Great job, Team.

Level 1

	Zen	Target	Come	Sit	Down
Step	1	1	1	Complete	Complete

Level 2

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	2	2	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	1 & 2	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Tricks	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 3

	Zen	Come	Sit	Down	Target
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Jump	Relax	Handling	Retrieve	Communication
Step	0	0	0	0	0

Level 4

	Zen	Come	Retrieve	Target	Relax
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Focus	Lazy Leash	Go To Mat	Crate	Distance
Step	0	0	0	0	0
	Handling	Communication
Step	0	0

Coco/Malcolm

Update after Friday appointment

Yoda/Malcolm

Update after Friday appointment.