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.


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