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.

July 18th - 27th, 2014

Buddy

Buddy has been released into Tao Service Dogs care for placement.  Buddy is now available for either pet dog or service dog placement.  If you are interested in Buddy, please contact me to apply.

Buddy needs work on Level 1 Zen, Level 1 Come, Level 2 Lazy Leash, Level 2 Sit and Level 2 Down.  Buddy also has Separation Anxiety (SA) and is under going training to assist him with it.

Buddy has spent the week learning I can walk away from him while he's in a crate or x-pen and return without his needing to bark or panic.  He is eating daily in his x-pen and works daily on short, split second separations to help him understand that people leaving is not a bad thing.

He is in need of crate training and we've begun it, but this means he doesn't crate well.  For more information on Buddy, please contact us and we'll discuss him.

Buddy will continue crate and SA training to help him be the best companion he can be.

Murphy

Nice job team!  Murphy is now retrieving pens, keys and remotes (if they have a shoe lace attached).  What a fantastic advancement.

During our lesson Murphy picked up his first piece of paper and did well with it.  He is starting to work on metal as an object he can take in his mouth and pick up.

He is still barrel rolling the pen in his mouth, so we are working on a still mouth with a Carry Hold.

Homework:

Hold the pen before Murphy and have him take it and then move your hand to the left or right side of his head and say Yes when he turns his head.  If he drops the pen it's okay, we are working on making his mouth still right now.  If he chews, rolls or crunches the pen do not reward - instead, pick it up and offer it again before him and move your hand to the left or right and say Yes when he turns his head.  If he doesn't chew on it, give him a reward.

When he's good at this, hold the pen out so he has to take a few steps to take it.  When he turns toward you say Yes and give him a treat only if he doesn't crunch, chew or roll the pen.  The next time have him take a step toward you and slowly increase steps to you until he is walking back to bring you the pen.

Have him before you and give him the pen then back up a few steps to encourage him to carry the pen toward you.  Only reward if he doesn't chew, roll or crunch the pen.

Spirit

Spirit started Prozac last week.  She is much calmer in her reactions to sounds or sights outside of her home.  She didn't once go off on a bark fest when she heard something outside of the home, nor did she go into Fool Around when working with me.

I took her outside to work on her walks.  She did some nice sniffing in the yard and then we worked into the street and she was able to work on actual Loose Leash Walking and take treats.  The difference in her ability to focus and train is clear and I am loving it.

She is still Spirit.  She still has her bouncy, loving nature, she's just calmer and able to handle stress better.  I am so glad she's on her way to being a happier dog overall.

I brought her back into the home when things got a bit too busy outside.  A neighbor dog had been barking in the distance and Spirit at first listened, but gave a snort and turned to me for treats.  A neighbor was using a vacuum in her open garage and Spirit watched for a few seconds and gave a snort and went to sniffing the ground.  We worked with those two distractions for about 15 minutes with 30 seconds on and 2 minutes off on LLW work and lots of sniff and explore time.  She did fine until a second neighbor dog, one she could see, came out and barked at her.  She went very still and stood staring and couldn't hear me anymore.  I took her inside at that point.

Later we went out and worked with her owner on how to do the LLW training and talked about doing 5 to 10 minutes on during walks and giving breaks of about the same length.  Doing this during her daily walks should make her more likely to walk nice on the lead and make her walks easier in general.

Homework:

Deliver a treat to Spirit's mouth while she's walking directly beside you and at your seam of your pants.  Do this once per second to start and slowly start extending the number of seconds between treats.  If at any time she moves forward out of position while actually working on LLW training, stop, lure her back into position and start again and increase the number of treats for a short time and then start extending time between them.  The easiest way of doing this is by counting steps - one step/treat and then 2 steps/treat and so forth.

Do this for 5 to 10 minutes while on your walks at least twice during the walk.

Continue crate training with adding duration while you are no in sight of Spirit.

Minnie

Oh how I love Ms. Minnie.  She's been working on her Sit as a cue and learned it nicely.  Her owners mentioned she'll sit if she sees the treats, so I showed them how to use a clicker and how to take the treats off of them.

I worked with Minnie for a short time and clicked then treated each time she sat.  I then started to add the verbal cue.  Once I had a good verbal cue and lots of offered sits I started walking her through the house into different rooms, while facing different directions and cued a sit and click/treated each one.

I then had her owners do the same, but I clicked and they treated.  I had them leave the treats nearby and go to them each time she did her sit.

I then worked on luring Minnie into a down.  I have 3/4ths of a down, which for Minnie is a major accomplishment.

Homework:

Practice with her by cuing her to sit and clicking and then treating when she does.  Once she's very good at Sit, start to ask for two or three sits and then treat and begin asking for sits for things she wants, such as sniffing, getting her leash on or going out the door for her walk.

Continue to work on luring Minnie into a down.

Continue to shape Minnie to ring a bell.

Coco

Update coming soon.

Dakota

Update coming soon.

July 14th - 18th, 2014

Spirit

Spirit is doing well with her crate training and is up to 10 minutes with her owner in sight.  Her owner did mention she's having problems with taking Spirit on her walks, she tends do a lot of stops or pulls.

I took Spirit out to work on her walking in the street.  She was eager to go, but as her owner has noted, once out she becomes hesitant.  I have seen this before.  Each time she gets out in the open she wants to duck into a nearby closed area to make herself feel more secure.

I let her sniff her front lawn and just let her use her nose to lead the way.  She worked along the sidewalk and down toward the cross street.

She did a lot of stops and heavy sniffing of the ground then would raise her head, stiffen and then go back to sniffing.  At one point, 3/4 of the way to the cross street she heard voices and saw a utility man and went still.  I let her watch for a moment (they were a long distance off) and then patted her on the ribs and redirected her back.

It was extremely hot, she was now tired and had no interest in treats.  I let he lead me back home and we ended the lesson.  Her owner and I talked about medication for her generalized anxiety.  Spirit is hyper alert to sounds or sights outside of her home and goes off barking a great deal.  She is also tends to wind up when she becomes nervous and goes into Fool Around as a way to handle stress.  I said I thought it was a good idea and suggested she speak with her vet.

She will continue work on crate behaviors and allowing Spirit to direct the walks to help her gain confidence.

Coco

What a little trooper this girl is. I need first remind you that I had a serious incident last night with Emma when out on our walk. Emma was charged by a 70 pound dog which was intent on harming her. I used my umbrella to protect her, but it left her badly shaken and even this morning I was seeing fallout from our walk the night before. So, when Coco arrived tonight I had already adjusted out route to skip that house and provide Coco with the safest route to walk in my area.

She is much more comfortable with visiting my dogs when she arrives and is no longer trying to hide, but instead exploring my home and sniffing the items in it. Lovely.

She and Dieter, my Dachshund, had a good "how ya doin'?" sniff session with a bit of "wanna play?" from Dieter. Coco didn't, but she wasn't worried by his invitation.

Max, my retired service dog, is a non-issue for Coco and she's finally comfortable with Malcolm, who tonight gave her big sloppy German Shepherd nose marks when he said his hellos and then got GSD moose (also known as spit!) smeared on her when he gave her entire head a lick. She looked a bit disgusted, but not fearful.

We do have a new area to work on, which is her resource guarding, but she's showing no real fear of my dogs any longer.

Our walk was amazing. We crossed Park road and headed for the bridge on the other side of the street from our last walk. She was unfazed by the traffic, even when a semi truck roared past, and was happily checking out all of the new smells along that side of the road. Her owner commented she's walking faster and with more confidence on their walks and they are now almost up to full speed walking, which is wonderful.

She was a bit worried by the sight of a man mowing his lawn and tried to shy away from the lawn mower, so I think on our next visit we'll bring my lawn mower out and let her sniff and explore it while it's not running.

She did great when not one, but three different children kept asking to pet the dogs. We could see the 4 to 6 year old girl waiting as we came down the street. Her family was in the yard and she stood at the curb waiting for us to come near - we crossed the street to put distance between her and the dogs and to avoid the lawn mower (number 2) that was being used. I told the girl we were training and she couldn't pet the dogs and she began bargaining - "How about the little one?" "what about the big one?" I said no each time and we never slowed or stopped, but kept going past. The parents told her she was told no and to leave the dogs alone.

Not long after that two 3 to 4 year old boys came running toward us and I put out my stop hand, which stopped them approaching and told them, "No, they are not for petting" when they asked if they could pet the dogs. They too went through the "what about the little one?" "what about the big one" and I was firm, "No, they are not for petting" and we kept going and didn't stop.

Coco is a bit worried about children, but with me and her owner keeping the children at a distance and the children stopping and not running right up to her, she never flinched and didn't show fear.

On our way back we walked the closest to traffic to date and she was perfectly calm. We have managed to make traffic in general a non-issue.

We do have to work on Leave It, Recall and not stepping off of curbs when she gets a bug up her butt to sniff something - which leave it will help with.

It was a fantastic session and Coco is blossoming as we continue to work on her confidence.

July 7th - 12th, 2014

Spirit

Spirit is preparing for a stay with a board and train and has been working on her crate behaviors.  She has also been taking classes at Diamonds in the Ruff and started her new class on Wednesday of this week.  When I arrived her owner asked me if we could work on Spirit's obsession with the family cat.  Since Spirit moved into the home she and the cat have not been able to remain in the same room together.  The cat has a gated room to live in, but the family would like the cat to have more freedom.

The room is downstairs and Spirit has gotten to a point she can pass the room most times when she can't see the cat.  If she hears the cat or sees the cat she becomes extremely focused on the room.  In order to help her with the cat I began, again, working on Zen behaviors.  Spirit was not in a playful mood and didn't want to play It's Yer Choice with a toy, which would have been best, but was willing to play it with my holding food or placing it on the floor.  She even played it with me putting food on her paws, but she simply wasn't in her normal high play mode and thus we worked on other ways of remaining calm in situations that normally excite her.

Generally if I sit on the chairs or floor Spirit will mug me.  She didn't this time, so I paid her for being polite.  I then sat on the floor with her for a bit and paid for her staying calm and even laying against my leg.  I then laid on the floor, a sure fire way to get her excited and she again didn't ramp up.  I paid her for laying quietly beside me and staying calm with me on the floor.

After that I worked on handling her feet, head, ears, lips and eyes and she was calm all through that.  I am not sure who this dog is, but it was a lovely day for paying for the exact behavior I wanted.  I then took her to the front door and worked on Sit/Stay while I opened it and closed it and then I added a soft knock and paid for staying in a seated position when I did.  This too went very well.

It was then the cat made a noise and she rushed down the stairs to stare at the cat room.  I joined her on the steps and played the Up/Down Game, LAT and cued sits, downs and stands and paid for them.  We did that for about 15 minutes until she was able to roll on her hip with her back to the cat room and watch me and then she decided she was done with the game and left.  Perfect.

Her homework for the week is continued LAT and Up/Down at the cat door and work until she's able to tune out the fact she's by the door.  If the cat appears and she gets too excited she is to be removed and brought back later when the cat is not currently in sight.  Only when she can focus on her games and continue to learn is she to remain if the cat is in line of sight.  Once she can, continue LAT and Up/Down games with her and ask for basic Level 1 behaviors to build a positive association with the cat and she can begin to ignore the cat.

They are also to work on her homework for the class she is currently taking.

Minnie

Minnie went on vacation with her family and did very well.  They had glowing reports of her riding well in the car while wearing her Thundershirt (which has to be way too cute with how tiny she is) and doing well in all the hotels she stayed in.  She did well meeting her extended family and was friendly with them and only one instance in which a 4 year old child tried to crawl under a table to her and they protected her from dealing with it.  Overall, they were thrilled with the experience and Minnie's continued trust in them.

We worked on learning how to shape targeting a bell for going outside and how to help her not bark or growl at incoming guests.  Minnie has some fear issues with new people and company coming into the house is hard on her.  We talked about having the company toss treats behind Minnie and away from the company so she slowly associates them with positive things.  We also discussed the importance that the guests not try to be her friend as soon as they arrive, ignoring her if she tries to sniff from behind and if she is having a hard time with a guest, especially one who can't follow the rules, to remove her and place her in a safe location while the guest is visiting.

We also arranged for Minnie to come and stay with me during August.  I look forward to her stay.

Minnie's homework is to shape something new, work on a cued sit and down and continue to work on improving her confidence with visitors coming to the home.  We are working to a cued stay for Minnie's safety and will begin recall training for her safety also.

Coco

It's hard being a tiny dog in Spokane's monsoon season! We had several appointments in which it was so cold and wet we just worked on basic skills.

Today was the opposite! We are moving our appointments to later in the day during this heat wave, today told us how important that is!

We worked traffic today. I live near a bridge that spans the I90 freeway and has cars that pass one lane width away from the sidewalk. Though hot, we worked the bridge today.

Coco was amazing. Normal traffic didn't faze her, she was slow going across the bridge, so clearly processing, but not fearful or over threshold. Whenever a car went by her owner tossed her a treat and as we crossed the bridge she gave her one treat for every one or two steps. Coco had done well with the bridge over the Spokane Falls downtown and the traffic going under us sounded much like that.

When a big box truck went by she looked at it and right back to her owner! We were extremely pleased.

Once on the far side of the bridge we gave her her second water break. Did I mention it was hot?

Our return over the bridge had cars coming from behind instead of the front like before. As each car passed her owner gave her a treat (timing was excellent and she actually gave the treat at the sound of the car and Coco was chewing her treat each time a car passed!) and we both noted a happier, faster Min Pin crossing the bridge with double the confidence than the first crossing!

It wasn't a long walk, but a lot of vital information for Coco was out together today.

If worried, check in! She did constant check ins and got paid heavily for them.

If startled, check in! She did great when the box truck startled her and the check in got an immediate reward.

If curious ask for a chance to sniff. She got several good sniff sessions in and enjoyed that reward too.

If scared, give it a second and then trust we will back her up. She was frightened by a piece of twine on the ground. It looked, to a very small dog, like a snake. We stopped and gave her time to sneak up and sniff it. Once done we left it behind and other items on the sidewalk were curiosities and not scary. On our way back the bit of twine was a non issue.

It was a fantastic walk and she did great exploring my yard off lead with my dogs. Overall, a fantastic lesson!

Dakota

Dakota came to spend the weekend with me.  She arrived Saturday morning and left Monday morning.  She was to work on her impulse control and bite inhibition.

I spent most of Saturday watching her run herself into exhaustion.  She spent 5 hours on Saturday running like a wild indian in my yard and splashing in the water and just being a puppy with too much energy.

We worked for part of her meal working on handling.  I would touch her shoulder, feet, legs, head, ears, muzzle, cheek, tail, hips, back and sides and then click when she was still and treat her.  I moved to examining her teeth, in her ears and her eyes.

We continued that work on Sunday and Monday.  I would click when she would either lick or pull her mouth away from my hands and reward her for good choices.  Her shark like behavior was well under control when I sent her home, but continued work on rewarding soft mouth and no biting needs to be done to keep her impulses under control.

June 30th - July 3rd, 2014

Spirit

Spirit is still working on her crate behaviors to be ready for her vacation with a board and train facility in August.  I worked on duration for a while and watched to see what she really needed help with.  It's relaxing in the crate.  She goes in fine, is quiet when in the crate, but sits with a level of alertness and tension that tells me she isn't fully comfortable in the crate.  Time to teach her to relax.

I worked for a while on getting her chin down to her paws by shaping it.  We got a good approximation of that while she lay at my feet out of the crate. I had gotten a hip roll, a deep sigh and her offering putting her chin to her paws before I moved it to the crate.  I started with the door open and me sitting before it.  I got her to lay down and offer the chin on the edge of the door, but no hip rolls.  She was spring loaded and ready to go if I let her. 

I worked on shaping the hip roll and finally got her hip over and her chin down with the crate door open.  After a break we went back to it and this time I closed the door and slipped treats to her through the bars of the crate.  I never left the side of the crate, but did get a chin down, hip roll and even once a big sigh.  She's not relaxed, but she's offering the physical behaviors for now and it was a great session.

Her owner will continue to work on her relaxing in her crate and reinforcing body positions that encourage her to relax and become comfortable in her crate overall.

Ziggy

Ziggy is a Rat Terrier who was being evaluated for service dog training.  Due to clear nervousness and difficulties recovering from novel or startling things I have not approved Ziggy for service dog work.  Ziggy's owner will continue to enjoy Ziggy's company as a pet dog.

Buddy

Buddy is working on impulse control and how to relax and settle near his handler.  He is also working on focusing on his handler while working.  We worked on settling at my feet at first and shaping chin down and other behaviors that encourage relaxation.  We also worked on basic impulse control.  On the end of the appointment his handler worked on rewarding behaviors that encouaged more focus and more relaxation on Buddy's part.

We did discuss getting a volunteer for Buddy to help with his training and care two days a week.  I have found a volunteer who'll take Buddy from Friday night to Sunday afternoon and will work on impulse control, basic foundation skills and learning to relax at his handler's feet.  This volunteer is near me, so I will be able to donate time to work with Buddy on the weekends.

Buddy's homework is:

It's Yer Choice:  Buddy must offer a sit to get his dinner, go out a door or play with a toy.  If he tries to steal a toy or food from his handler's hand she is to pull her hand away and look away from him until he sits.  She is to do this as many times in a row until he can sit calmly and wait for the food or toy to be offered to him.

Please review Malcolm's Quest blog post and read the entry for Thursday to see more about installing calm and impulse control into a service dog in training.  There are also videos available which show how to achieve the goal we are working for.

Pay for Eye Contact:  If  Buddy volunteers eye contact pay him with food, toy, praise or affection to let him know you like it.  If he comes to check on you do the same, even if eye contact has not been made - we are working on him finding you to be the best thing since sliced bread, so offering him rewards of food, toys, praise or affection will increase his desire to be with you.

Door Manners:  Teach Buddy how to wait at the door by asking for a sit and reaching for the door.  If he stands, take your hand away from the door and ask for a sit again. Do this until you can open the door and he won't move from his sit.  Work until the door can stay open for 1 minute and you can step in and out of the door at least three times.

Meet People:  Buddy becomes over excited when he sees people he knows.  If pulls and barks to show he desires to greet them.  Work on his walking on a loose leash, quiet and calm and focused on you to meet people he knows.  If he can't take 1 step without getting to excited, then take one step and lure him into a sit.  Wait for eye contact and take one more step and lure him into a sit.  Do this until he can walk up to 20 feet without needing to sit to calm down and meet the person without getting over excited.  If he can only get 15 feet away from someone he likes and stay calm, don't try to get 14 feet away, but stop where he is still calm for that lesson and work to get closer in another lesson.  He doesn't need to meet the person each time he works toward them, just learn to be calm when he sees them and eventually to greet them.

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.