Surgery for you - what to do with your SD?

It's been quite awhile and I apologize. I had surgery November 12th and well, i'll get into all of that soon.

Preparing for surgery didn't include making sure someone was here to pickup mail for me, or just simply packing. I had to decide what to do about the question that haunts all of us SD users.
To bring the SD or not to bring the SD? That is the question. Well after weeks upon weeks of concideration, debate, and emotin I decided that it was in SSD Winston's best interest to not come along with me to the hospital. At the point I had planned to have bilateral hip abduction and both large toes fused, apparently causing five days max of hospitalization. Okay so now, I had made my decision about where he would be...what next? Well, if he is not going to be with me, where is he going to be? so I sat down and concidered everyone. People constantly offer to dogsit him. By all means, he really is a pleasure to have around. But that does not mean in any way that they are suitable to care responsibly for my $17,000 service dog/love of my life. Here were my options. Err, here is my list.
My Moms Boyfriend Bill - Alcoholic and horrible with the challenges of animals
My Dad - Not positive reinforcment based / thinks dogs should just stay in the yard
Megan - Never owned a dog and works full time
Joni and Dave - Both work full time, but are AMAZING with their chocolate lab
My Sister Erika - Lives in an apartment that doesn't allow dogs and works full time
Marilyn - Works full time again
Julie and Brian - Home with the baby, they have two other dogs that Winston loves and arevery fimiliar people to Winston. Julie loves positive reinforcement and is 100% trust worthy. Bingo. So, Julie and Brian it is. Now, how do I prepare? First, I wrote a detailed list of commands and normal activities for winston. Then a list of things he is not allowed to do and finally a list of emergancy contacts including my vet, emergancy vet, number i could be reached at, and most importantly the organization that trained him. Other than that it's just choosing what to pack, like favorite toys, plenty of food, ect.

"Nurse"

After recently using "Go Find Grandma" combined with "Speak" to get Winston to wake up an asleep nurse, I decided to generate a new command for Winston. It is a simple one word ("Nurse") that has him enthusiastically nudge my nurse to get her attention. We practiced for one hour tonight (broken up in three minute segments with five minute breaks in between) and he did very well. He has been super excitable all day, which is why I decided to introduce the command today. We used a masking tape target on my nurses leg and only had to instruct him once or twice to "touch" it. On a few instances he got so excited that he just ran around me barking and wagging his tail...but those cases were all at the end of the three minute session. I started with standing a mere three or four feet away from my nurse and by the end of the hour I got about 20ft away from her. I am very pleased with the progress.

Today we ran errands while waiting for my flu shot and got the chance to practice "open" on new public doors. He is great though and I don't need to really encourage him. He retrieved napkins that I needed to purchase for the jewelry party and gave the cashier all of my items on the first try. Nothing new, just a nice and flawless day.

Okay, well! I need to get into bed. I'll leave you with a new photo from my Dad's house the other day!


Note: Long strain of drool from Winston's mouth

"Open Door" Buttons + Knitting Knot

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things around here with Winston have been pretty normal! He has been wanting to work tons and tons, I think I need to dress him and work at home more often, he has such a different personality when on duty than off. He is so much quicker off duty! Yesterday at the mall it took him forever to even attempt to push the "door open" button...and then he stupid thing was broken anyway! Today at the doctors he was much better. I had to laugh because the location of the button was near a fire alarm which reminded me of a story I once heard. A great friend of mine (Christina)was having her SD (SSD Ross push a "door open" button and accidentilly he hit the fire alarm! This was at Susquehanna U! All I could think of was how funny it would be if Winnie did that at Lancaster's Womens and Baby's Center. Heh. Tonight Winston and I are flying solo and joining a new club at our favorite bookstore, Buckhill. It is called the Knitting Knot and I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT. This should be amusing. Winston is usually on his top alert level when I knit because I drop the needles so often he is always picking them up! Well, i'm going to go do some last minute grooming.

Service Dog Newsletter Style Article For People Visiting Home w/ SD

After the incident with that person taking Winston into the basement I decided that just discussing Service Dogs with people was not enough. I wanted to take not only a more serious aproach to the matter, but also a more professional one. After thinking about my options for a weeks or so I came up with the idea of an information article. I think it has turned out very well (of course I am open to opinions and suggestions) and would like to offer it to anyone interested.

The Articles it contains are;

+What Is A Service Dog?

+Setting Service Dogs Apart From Pets

+A Communities Guide To Service Dog Etiquitte

+About Our Home

The final section is very personalized and if you would like to use it for your own home please feel free to edit it as need be. The file was made in Microsoft Word but I can convert it to AppleWorks if need be. Email me for the file!

Teaching to "Peg" Leash to Wheelchair

Upon request of the best SD partners in NJ, Samantha and Ivy, I am working on blogging how I am currently teaching Winston to "peg" himself. I'll start from the top, but before I do so please remember - I am by no means a dog trainer and these methods are not necessarily the ones recommended by Susquehanna Service Dogs or any other Service Dog organization. Please contact the training facility that you received your dog through before attempting any of the methods I use!

The term "Pegging" originates from what is secured to ones wheelchair with the purpose of attaching the Service Dog's leash to the wheelchair, as in these photographs.

This is a front view, you can see the metal "peg" with the ring around it. Behind that is the black Flexi Lead. This is left unlocked so that when the ring is off of the peg the SD can have a long leash to go through tight quarters or roam further from you.




This second view is from the side with the leash still "pegged"




And finally, this is a photo of the Flexi and peg without being "pegged". It is a little more clear as to how it is set up.





Now that you have a clear understanding of what pegging is and how it is set up, I can begin to describe how Winston is learning to put the Ring, show here off of a leash



onto the peg.

In order to begin the process we gathered a few common training tools.


From left to right; Treat Bag with power treats, Clicker (iclick! yay) Ring, and Target)


Winston was taught that ductape is a target, so he knows either to push/touch ductape or to take it by the location with ductape on it. That being said, I took a piece of ductape about four inches long and wrapped it around an extra ring I had to make a little handle for him. Eventually I hope to be able to take this off as it looks messy and unprofessional.

Holding the ring by the opposite side of the tape, I told Winston to "Take it!" And Click/Treated when he did so. We did this process quite a few times until he was taking it from the tape even when held like so;



This process was very quick and I could eliminate having to use the spare ring almost immediately. The next tool I introduced was a Target. This had to be modified a few times so that I could hold and use it efficiently.

It is a piece of PVC piping about 12 inches long



With a butter lid taped to it



Here is a nice shot of the entire target



When held out, Winston knows to touch his nose to the lid. This is perfect for teaching Winston where I want him to bring the ring.

So, now that he knows to take the ring by the ductape, what I did next was after he picked the ring up (the ring was now on my leash), I slipped the target into the closest location to the peg. For me, this is directly behind it.

Perfect - He brought the ring over to the target and touch it - As soon as it was in an area close to that peg - it was a c&t with a huge party - I really want to reinforce him bringing it to that location.

Once he was bringing it to the target right away every time I began to eliminate the target - Allowing him to naturally bring the ring to the location desired. HUGE C&T PARTY!!!

I keep my sessions short - five or six tries and then a big "okay!" I clean up and find something to do for awhile - then try again later.

Within three days Winston was dropping the ring onto the peg - BY ACCIDENT - Maybe 4 out of 10 times. This command is something that takes a lot for the dogs to realize what they are being rewarded for.

Now that I have a new wheelchair we had to start over, the first session he got it on 2 out of 10 times and the next was 3 out of 10. Ten tries is about two separate sessions.

Winston LOVES to do this, I have to keep the target hidden or else he bring it to me, constantly. This is so much fun for he and I to work on, I really recommend it for a challenge if you and your partner are ready!

PLEASE feel free to ask questions about this as I know it is probably very confusing.

Also, I plan on making a short 30 second movie of it. If you want to see it please email me!

The fear and horror of your dog not being there

Tonight Bill's friend Viki took Winston into the basement with her, seconds before I needed him to come help me. After calling two or three time's I realized it was Winston and not one of our other dogs that she had taken down, shutting the door behind her. I called my mom for a good three minutes before Liberty (who was crated) began barking and causing a rukus downstairs. I guess that got my moms attention and then she came upstairs to see what I was yelling about. My mom acted like I wanted her to put a movie in or something so unimportant. She laughed and said "He's outside I think" Rolling her eyes as if to say "What's the big deal?" He came trotting into my room and waited to help me sit up straight. My mom came in and asked if I needed her help, I spatted off "No, Winston can do it." and off she went. Minutes later I heard everyone looking for Harley outside because when Viki let him and Winston out, she didn't "know" the gate was open! I guess this was my last straw because I just really went into a panic attack. I need Winston. I thought they all understood what that meant, but apparently not. I'm going to have to sit down with all of his friends and put everything on the table for them. There will not be anymore interactions without my permission. Not a pat on the head, let alone letting him go on another floor of the house or outdoors. I was so upset. I talked to Roseanne about it because I was afraid that I was over reacting.
"Why would this person take Winston without asking your permission? I thought Bill had left? No, you would not be out of line at all to tell them to leave your dog alone. You needed him & he wasn't there -- what if you'd needed him for something life threatening. Maybe the person meant well in letting them out but Winston isn't just a dog, he's your service dog & only you decide what he does. Oh, Linzey, I can't get into that with you. But that person was way out of line -- way out of line. You really need to tell them they can be with the other dogs but not Winston. He is YOURS. I don't want to create a problem, but Winston is not a pet to be handled by anyone who comes in the door. He has a special job to do & is worth a lot in both $$$ & ability. Someone's carelessness could cause you serious problems & heartache -- they don't realize what a service dog means to its partner."
I talked to her and my Christina for a good 15/30 minutes and can not calm down still so i'm going to go work with Winnie for a little.

A Glimpse of how it will be for my internship!

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day at the Susquehanna Service Dogs kennel. They successfully pegged my wheelchair which I must say is courtesy of Old Man Mike's suggestion combined with the fair weather toolwoman trainer, Karen's ability to peg wheelchairs in a secure manor. It was quite the chaotic mess getting situated, with SSD Maddie, SSD Gideon, SSD William (winnie's dad!), SSD Walter, SSD Nettie was working in the office, plus one gorgeous persian cat that until it jumped onto my lab to eat my treats, made me think my cats were HORRIBLY untrained! Walter's partner was separating aluminum tabs from metal ones, and everyone else (Cindy and Nancy, Laurie was there too!) was working. I got some material to begin reading and went on my way. Winston went right into working mode once pegged to my wheelchair. It was amazing to see how much it helps to have a firm hold on him! On the way out I went through stones which I have driven through many times before in my old wheelchair...well...that was the worst move...ever. My top of the line wheelchair got so incredibly stuck in the stones that it took Laurie, Cindy, Amy (my nurse), karen and Nancy to get me out. Oh, did I mention it was pouring down rain?

*Pictures of SSD Maddie and Gideon taken from SSDCubby.com

MDA Telethon 2004 Chaos & Philly Airport memories

Well, my new wheelchair still isn't pegged so Winston's leash was secured onto my chair simply by tying it onto my seatbelt. Mental Note To Self - This doesn't work well. Winston had incredibly too much freedom to move in front of me and after the incident i'm about to recall, he took full advantage of that freedom. After parking we got in the elevator to go to the second floor, where the MDA instructed us to go, and there was no "2" button. We chose three and when the doors opened a tiny long haired dachshund ran in! A little spanish maid started screaming and yelling about how she opened a door to clean and it ran out. Seconds afterwards the doors shut and the elevator started moving. WINSTON WENT NUTS. I DON'T THINK HE REMEMBERED HE HAD EVER SEEN A DOG BEFORE IN HIS LIFE. By the time we got the elevator back to the floor the little dog ran out and along with him he took Winston's concentration. When we got out of the elevator he was alright...just very mixed acting. He finally settled enough for me to let him greet SSDRoss but I could not let anyone pet him what so ever the entire day. We was very antsy and sniffy so going to take a walk down Kapona (A festival including an art show in down town Harrisburg that is pretty huge) for a late lunch was the worst idea, ever. He thankfully was great with "leave its" in reference to all of the dogs we saw, and even to food on the ground, but his pulling was out of control. Even whenever we were "under" at the picnic table he pulled to move around. He was easily the worst when some idiot woman called our dogs (because SSD Ross was still with us) by making very loud kissy noises over and over. It was too loud for me to yell at her so I shot her the most evil eye accompanied with, what i've mastered living in the daycare, a stern shaking my head "NO". Apparently this holiday was just the weekend to taunt Winston because at the airport a group of asain people were blown away by Winston, which I initially took a grand compliment. A young child (maybe four?) and his mother pushed it though, leaning down to pet him, waving to him, pointing in his face and what not. I smiled and said a clear "No." while shaking my head, but it was apparent to me that they either did not understand, or could care less. The situation would have been frustrating had it not been for Bob. Wife to Jenny, mother to Hanna, and vice president of Donley Printing. He stood against the wall, arms folded, looking rather prestigious, and blurted out in a somewhat mono tone "He bites." What made this comment that was repeated over much funnier is that he was making direct eye contact with the mother of this tiny child. As if I wasn't laughing hard enough already, Bob continued with "He tore a young boys arm off....once." I wish I had a recording of it because this gentlemens tone of voice was HILARIOUS! I lost it and from that moment on was in hysterics. Oh, how fun it is having a service dog.

Mission - Retrieval of the Treat Bag

I am about to go start working on Winston retrieving my treat bag. This is something he rarely will do for me and according to Roseanne, can.

First I must accomplish the sub-mission - locate iclick in this mess of a room

I'll update later.


-

It is now Sepetmber 7th and Winston is retrieving my treat bag for me on a regular basis!

Journal Entries from our transfer 2001

These journal entries are from when I was in transfer with Winston...oh man was I ever 16!

5/30/01

Today I met Winston for the second time. We had a short "meet and greet" with them when we could give them treats. For treats they just use dog food. They love it! We learned a few of the commands. We learned "come", "sit", "stay" and "heal". The other girl Courtney who is training with me can not speak. Her dog is trained with signals like sign language. We also learned about the importance of "play time". Your dog is working all day and needs atleast 20 minutes a day of playtime to release it's stress and tension.

5/31/01

Today we got to advance to the next level after reviewing everything else that we learned yesterday, which took most of the morning. We also go to take our dogs outside. The command to make them go to the bathroom is "go potty". During lunch we read through a notebook they gave us full of a lot of information, such as, caring for your dog. After lunch we went through our bucket full of supplies that they provided us with. They bucket itself will be used for water. Inside of it there were many grooming tools. A rubber brush is used first all over the dog, they love this! It feel likes a massage. After that you use a metal brush that is pretty sharp. It pulls hair out with its teeth. After we learned about these tools they took us outside to groom them for the first time. Even with bringing Winston up on the bench I couldn't reach him enough to do this myself. So they said my mom could do it. She likes that because it's time when she can talk and pet him. After we were done grooming them (and covered in dog hair! And I mean COVERED!) we went back inside for our first lession on "take"! This command gets Winston to pick up a dropped or out of reach object, when I point to it and say "Winston, take". We started with easy things and worked out way up to his bowl. This is difficult for the dogs to learn because they must pick it up by the far side and not the side closest to them. After about seven or eight tries Winston got the hang of it and brought it up to me. I then filled it and he put his front paws up on my foot rests and ate it off of my lap! It was so awesome! When he was finished he took the bowl and sat it down. We ended the day reviewing what we had learned. We also "pegged" my wheelchair so that I don't have to carry his leash, it is just attached to my chair!

6/1/01

Today was very challenging yet fun! I dressed Winston all by myself! This means putting on his harness and gentle leader. It took me about ten minutes but I did it! Again, we began by reviewing everything we have learned. Then we walked our dogs in bewtween chairs and I had to keep Winston in the "heal" position while Nancy tried to distract him. We learned about walking through doors. Sometimes you want the dog to go first and sometimes you want him to follow you. The commands are simple, "Winston go through" gets him to go through the door way, turn around and watch me, and "Winston wait" makes him let me go through the door first and follow me through. I also learned what to do if i'm ever in a tight aisle with yummy snacks close to the bottom. I have Winston "go through" so that he is facing me and then I say, "Winston back..." and have him back up the entire length! We took our dogs out a lot today and played for about 20 minutes. Before lunch we learned the "under" command which makes him go under a table or bench. This is so that the dog is not in the way. During lunch (with Winston under the table) we reviewed the "user agreement" which mostly states that we will take good care of our dogs and provide him with a good home, and good veterinary visits when needed. They also told us how much our dog eats a day. Winston eats 3 cups of Nutromax a day. We also discussed the importance of maintaining the dogs healthy weight. An obese dog will faiil immediately. After lunch we started learning how to open doors. The command for this is simply "Winston, open!" But it really means "Winstion tug, hold, give" Sometimes you still have to say "hold" and most of the time you have to say "give". After he drops the rope you say "Winston, take your leash" When he does so you say "Winston come" so that he comes around the other side of you and gives you his leash. Something you have to remember is to have the dog on the side of you that has the hinges of the door on it. We also learned how to shut doors or drawers. "Winston push" is the command to shut things. After this we reviewed pciking up objects. This time they were a little more difficult. The more difficult item was a film case. They said the reason for this is because of it's texture. On monday we get to take them home! YAY!"

6/4/01

Today we practiced over and over all of the commands we already know. Although we covered everything we spent most of our time doing doors. I do it a few times and then Courtney and SSD Willow do it a few times. At lunch we discussed everything that we will do that afternoon and we talk about bring the dogs home with us. None of my family can "bond" with Winston. This will help him and I become extremely close. They pound it into our heads that WE must take complete care of our dogs, we have full responsibility of them at all times. Although Winstona and I have not passed our final test to be certified to go into public, the trainers give me permission to bring Winston along to the Vet for our other dogs check up. This is because the Vet will be able to meet Winston.

At home on our first night we didn't encounter any big problems. Winston laid under my desk while I worked on the computer. My step dad opened the door to hand my the telephone and it really startaled Winston, he jumped at him barking and growling.

6/5/01

This morning they watched us unload out of the van, making sure that Winston stayed seated until I was out of the van and ready for him. I forgot to write yesterday that I learned all of the commands for loading and unloading. Once the ramp is in place I let go of Winston's leash and say "Winston, get in the car!" And he gets up on the ramp, I then have whoever is with tap on the seat and say, "Winston, up!" After we get settled in they ask us to go over the night step by step. We then go straight into practicing. This is our last week at the Hemlock Girl Scouts building. After this we will be practicing in malls. All we did in the morning is practice. We practiced doors,"taking", and leave it. By lunch I was ready for something new. During lunch they showed us how to clean our dogs ears. And afterwards we learned how to do elevators!
Elevators are a very important and difficult task. This is because dogs have gotten seriously injured and even killed doing it. This is what you must do, "Winston, push!" To get him to jump up and push the elevator button If the door opens to the right I have to let Winston's leash on it's long lead, and drive half way into the elevator. This blocks the door from shutting. Next I say "Winston, go through!", he walks through, turns around, looks at me, backs up into the corner and sits. Going out is the same procedure. This takes lots of time and patients. We got to go home early because we were all doing welll! Yay!

Overcoming a new hurdle!

Today marks a huge accomplishment for SSD Winston!

He opened a door that was between him and "finding grandma".

For real.

I was finished with my nebulizer treatment and needed it turned off so I told him the usual "speak" to get my moms attention, because the door was shut. After twice my mom still didn't hear him. I wanted him to go over to the door and bark (so it would be louder) so I told him to "go find grandma" as he neared the door...just as I was about to say "speak" out of the corner of my eye I saw him lean towards the tug. As quickly as I could I encouraged him to "open!!" And sure enough, with a gazillion wags of his tail he opened the door and pranced out to "find grandma".



I WAS BLOWN AWAYYYY!!!!!!



He got some serious gourmet jackpot treats for that one.





This evening we worked on positioning for when I brush him because i'm in a new wheelchair. He did excellent. Stood perfectly still for ten minutes while I brushed him. The new picnic table's benches work great! Perfect height and stability for him.

<3

New Wheelchair & minor updates

Last night I had SSDF Liberty upstairs with me. This isn't an unusual occurance, as he has been frequenting the role of "protector". He was retrieving some items for me as he usually does when Winston got very puppy like and jealous...jumping around and trying to get treats that weren't rightfully his. This problem was solved by having him do a few tasks of his own. Earlier he got his "mega" fix* which always makes him happy.

This morning he did great again with responding to me while I was in bed. He was in the other room and pushed my door open to come to me when I called him. "Spoke" two or three times on command and alerted my mom successfully.

I'm getting my new wheelchair today, hopefully the delivery guy is a dog fan!

I hope'd we had puppy class tonight so that Roseanne could "peg" my wheelchair, but we don't! Bleh, I really don't want to have the alcoholic boyfriend [of my mom] do it. AT ALL.

"Go Find Grandma!" & Einstein Escapes!

Well, since I haven't learned html like i've wanted to the past three years I suppose i'll cave in and start a simple journal. Wanting to reply to http://www.cpldogivy.blogspot.com/ was also a big incentive to join. Eventually I will post my journal entries from when Susquehanna Service Dog Winston and I were in training, but neither of us can reach them right now, so i'm just going to start with where we are at!

Winston has had trouble listening to more than "stand" and "come" when i'm in bed on bipap, but last night and this morning he did GREAT! He and I have been doing "Go find Grandma!" in which he searches for, and touches to alert my mom. Last night he woke her up twice for me, once while I was in bed. This is exciting because she is on the other side of the house, in bed, causing him to not only search but get "in her face" to wake her up. (Winston isn't much of an "in your face" dog) This morning I woke up with a sharp pain in my right shoulder and after yelling three or four times for my mom, I decided to see how Winston was responding. He came right over and touched my hand after maybe two calls and and stern "WINSTON LETS GO" I got excited and sent him off to "Go find grandma!" and off he ran. I wasn't sure if he had gotten side tracked or not and just as I called him back to me my mom opened the back door and asked if I needed her! She said he stood at the back door giving her that "look"! YES! Huge party and bonus treat for Winnie!

Winston alerts also by giving a solid "Speak" and this morning, he was really funny. I was just about ready to get out of the shower when he peaked his head in as if I had already called him. My mom swears he was annoyed because of how long I take, but I think he's got esp. ;)

Last night as Megan was leaving she found a neighbors dog. She knows the procedure because Einstein, the HUGE yellow lab that he is, escapes constantly. God bless his family, they have four kids and both parents work. They adopted him from the humane league and have been so diligent as to his training. All of the kids took the clicker training classes and are taught proper training etiquette. Anyway, it took us about five minutes to settle Einstein enough in order to read his tags for his family's phone number...that is after he stepped on her toes a few times and twisted her wrist. He is such an energetic dog. I've got to say, it's not the training, it's the dog. Winston was an ANGEL though. He merely stood around watching Einstein tear through the house searching...for what, who knows? I did have to settle Winston though as he got rather short with Einstein while I was on the phone with Dave's wife. As Dave pulled up Winston barked his usual amount but came to me when Dave opened the door.

Okay well, that's enough for today! Hope all of you partners out there are doing well today!