After being taken advantage of by a service dog organization, I am now training a standard poodle puppy to be our daughter's service dog. Welcome to our adventure in dog training, I hope you enjoy reading about our progress.
We had some big adventures this week. I have found my rally gear and will be doing some at home rally practice starting this new week. As always this week we worked on obedience and even a few new tasks and had some really neat outings.
Luke is very reliable with finding exits, finding the car and finding dad in a store, paw touch and. He is really good at following vocal directional commands (right, left, stop ect), obstacle avoidance (still working on terrain/elevation changes), stairs , under, around (giving Ara space), block, DPT and Distress response. We are still working on behavior interruption, retrieving dropped items, and tactile stimulation (in different situations).
The two new things we are working on is turning on/off lights and closing the door. Ara does not like going into dark rooms and is sometimes afraid of the door being opened at night, so we are teaching Luke to help in this area. He will go into a room and turn on the light, once she is in bed he will then turn off the light and close the door.
Now on to our adventures:
Geocaching - Thanks to another service dog team Musa the Marvelous we have discovered geochaching and are hooked :) We did three searches this weekend and are 2/3 which is not bad for just getting started. We have found a micro tube and a small container. Here are some pictures from the two finds. It is a great way to get out and enjoy your local area. Ara was in charge of Luke the whole hike. We were even passed by several bicyclist, in which Luke ignored them.
Here are some videos from the first find of Ara and Luke working together.
Our second big adventure was going to Jurassic Quest. It is a display of over 50 life size dinosaurs and many of them move and it is very loud. Luke handled everything like a pro nothing phased him and he was able to guide Ara through the exhibits and even over to a quieter area to help with a mild panic attack. Here are some pictures and even a video of our fun.
Sorry it has been so long but that is how things sometimes work when owner training and raising a family.
We have been back to training and doing public access all of which Ara is "in charge". Ara is wanting more and more to be a trainer and will even put on my treat bag and get his leash out. Ara is also being more vocal about Luke when out in public, she is wanting to tell people about him and even invites kids to pet him and will tell him "say hi luke". It is super cute.
We have had some great outings over the last month (or so..lol) including the zoo, the park, stores, camping, and lots of playing outdoors.
Lately when we go into a place and it is not too busy I have been letting Ara be "in charge". She loops the leash around her (like I do) and gives Luke commands. I am walking right next to them and will give Luke vocal commands as needed, I can also quickly get to the leash if needed. We are working on Luke not always following me as well. So I will tell him "Stay with Ara" (with daddy next to them) I will then walk down the isle and return back to them. I also tell him "follow or Go With Ara" and having her give him treats after the command so he focuses more on her.
The zoo is always a fun trip. We have not been in a while so I was not sure how Luke would do. The zoo can be a huge challenge because it is so out of the realm of normal. Luke did really good most of the visit and not so well at two points. There are two places we dont get too close to with Luke, the Tigers and the Wolves. The Tigers and Wolves get very active when they see Luke, Luke barked twice while we were at the Tiger exhibit but it was due to Ara getting over excited and her running next to the tiger. At the wolf exhibit we almost got clear of it before the wolves noticed Luke, they two wolves began vocalizing and play fighting and Luke was more than ready to get out of there. We were able to talk to the head of the Zoo and he was so happy to see us there and said it is such a great enrichment for the animals to see Luke and a great training opportunity for Luke. We will be working on Luke doing a quieter alert and not barking. Usually I will asking him for a paw touch after he has barked and reward for that.
We had our first camping trip of the season last month. We went out to a trout farm that has ponds, play ground and you can either tent or rv camp or they even have basic cabins. We got one of the cabins and it was a good thing because it rained the whole time and we even had to cut our trip short due to it. We did still have a great time, Luke did really great with all the pets that were there and all the people walking by our cabin (at all hours). Ara and Molly had a wonderful time fishing and we caught about 7 small trout. We baked the trout in the skin and it was so delicious, I was surprised that Ara liked it but she ate two whole trout..lol
We have had a lot of fun playing in the yard and now that it is warm enough we are enjoying playing in the sprinklers and being outside every day.
And just like always we are always working on obedience and tasks. Hoping to do some rally training this summer as well. I promise to do my best to get back to making blog posts more regular :) I really appreciate everyone who reads our blog and facebook pages and Thank you for joining us on this amazing adventure.
It has been a long time since I have posted. Do to a Training issue and our family has been sick Luke was off work for about a month. We are slowly starting training back up.
Luke will not be with Ara for every outing as we slowly build back up to public access and such. He is in teenage mode as well so we are slowing down and working on obedience and throwing in some fun rally.
Last week we did out door obedience training as the weather is so nice. We also did some dog distractions. Luke is getting really reliable off leash in our yard. Off leash obedience is important in case a situation ever arises that Ara or I am unable (due to a medical issue) to hold his leash. Also if Luke does Rally the advance stages are to be done off lead.
We are starting outings slow and in places he is very comfortable in. While in a store the other day I had Ara hold his leash while I put the bags of groceries in the cart (it was 15min quick trip). A man walked by with the big cleaning dry mops and Luke did a great block for Ara (with out cue) and then guided her to me (4ft away). After him being off duty so long I was so happy to see this.
The other outing was therapy, this outing did not go as well. He refused to paw push and was just tense. So I took a step back, I took off his vest and head halter and did a few trots around the small indoor court yard. Then when back to the door and asked for the push. He happily did it. When we went in I asked if it was ok if he was unvested (in MT service dogs in training are required to wear a vest and be labeled as in training). They said no problem, he did a great under and was much more relaxed during her therapy session.
So I began to think a bit more and realized it is the vest is causing him some stress or discomfort. So we will be working on that and again holding off on PA training right now. I never want to push Luke or put him in situations he is uncomfortable with. He is just a young dog and is not yet mature, he still has a lot of growing up to do.
Fun story - Daddy was laying on the floor and stretching is back after a tough day at work the other night. Luke decided that Daddy needed DPT and then some puppy kisses lol
Last week I was invited by Autism Daily Newscast to write an article about our experience with getting a service dog for Ara. Here is the link to my google docs with texts, documents and more about our experience
Here is some of the article:
"In 2013 after doing a little bit of research we decided that a service dog could help our young daughter Ara who is diagnosed with autism as well as other health conditions. We found an organization, Great Lakes Assistance Dogs (GLAD) in MI that seemed to be great, they even helped us come up with tasks that the dog could do for our daughter and they already had a few started dogs so the wait would not be long. We had to raise $500 to start the process and get a dog matched to our daughter’s needs. Once we sent in the $500 we signed a contract and needed to raise another $12,000 for the dog. I immediately got to work making a Facebook page, sending out emails to family and friends, setting up funding pages etc.
As we raised money communication got sparse and I began to worry, but the director would always reassure me that they were just very busy. After we raised all the money the dog had a few health issues, but again were reassured that everything was fine and if not they would match us with another dog. We were told that a trainer would bring out the dog for us to meet him and just get to know him. We tried to schedule the meeting many times but they kept changing trainers and then putting off the date.
Finally a few weeks before we were to go to Michigan to pick him up they came out, they also charged us an additional fee for this, which was not in the contract. The dog had an ear infection and I had to give him medication while he was here. I sent messages to the director about this and again was reassured it was not a big issue and it would be resolved by the time we picked him up.
Finally it was time to drive to Michigan to pick up Cooper, it was a whirlwind of meeting in different places (never at the facility) and with very little actual training. We passed the Public Access Test (looking back parts were skipped over or half done) and they told us we could go home with him. I asked for his paper work, vet records and tags and they told me they would mail them to me, so we left with just Cooper and the last of his ear medication and no further instructions.
Within two weeks of being home we were having training issues and received Cooper’s paper work in the mail. I was surprised to find out he was kicked out of another service dog organization for having a chronic health issue. When reading his records I found out Cooper was a year late on his vaccines and he was due for his ear to be rechecked before he even left Michigan. I had to immediately make a vet appointment to have all his shots done, recheck his ear and to ask about his skin and constant itching issues. The vet recommended allergy testing as well as topical medications.
Within the next few weeks I realized Cooper did not know any actual tasks and was so food motivated he would nip your hands.
We contacted GLAD and they did not help us, they did give us back $400 for the allergy test which came back with over 20 items he is allergic to. We reached out to our local dog training community to help us with Cooper and took him to an independent evaluator, who temperament tested and administered the canine good citizen test, which he did not pass.
During this period of time we found a few other families that had very similar experiences with this organization, one had paid $12,500 for a service dog but received an untrained dog who now is an expensive pet, another was still raising money when they realized that the dog they were matched with had some health issues, they returned the dog and were not re-matched or given the portion of money they had raised.
We also found out that the organization was not a legal nonprofit as they were advertising (they were using another companies number), and that many of the director’s claims in experience/titles were false as well. Cooper’s training/behavioral issues and allergies all led to us retiring him from work within just a few months of having him. Thankfully our friends offered to adopt him as they had experience with dogs that had health issues and had the funds to provide for all his extensive lifelong special needs. We were completely devastated by this experience and our daughter was heartbroken. She did not understand why her Super Cooper could not stay with us and help her. The organization did nothing to help us and even threatened to sue us.
We have been very public about what has happened to us and other families. We don’t want another family to go through this devastating experience. The scary thing is that it happens all to often and there are several programs/organizations out there that make money scamming families with disabled children. The dogs are also victims as they get recycled to other unsuspecting families when they are returned to some of these programs."
First off I am so sorry I have not blogged in a few weeks. We have been very busy busy bees here and both girls have been very sick. Luke has made some huge progress and Ara has as well.
Ok so lets get into it
Skills: (At home training)
Trick Training - This has been so much fun, everyone is enjoying it and in April we will be taking a new course in trick training. So far we are working on jumping through a hula hoop, going between legs both in a walking stance and feet wide apart, paws up, and spin
Place/Mat - We have a little blanket for a "mat" when we go someplace where Ara will be away from Ara like OT or playground ect. I will put the mat down and that is where he needs to stay until needed. The mat can help keep him clean if floors or ground is dirty and keeps him from moving around too much. So far we are practicing mostly at home and some at OT
Retrieval - We are working more on retrieval, picking up dropped items and delivering them to our hands. We are also working on him following a pointing finger to an object. So far he helps clean up when we point to an object he will bring it to us and we will put it away. We are also working on picking up an item when it is dropped. Ara's tremors have been very bad since she is sick and she keeps dropping things which is very frustrating for her and can cause her to become agitated and even a meltdown, so this task will be very helpful for her and hopefully make it less agitating for her. Luke loves bringing us things even if it is not something we want, like empty boxes ect lol
Guide Work and Team Work - The weather is very nice so we have been going on many many walks around our neighborhood on the sidewalks. We have been able to work on right/left directions, automatic stops at intersections/curbs, "stop" which means to immediately stop and dont move no matter what Ara does, avoiding obstacles, ignoring barking dogs, Ara holding the leash and vest at the same time, and find home.
Dropped Leash/Off Leash Obedience - In our yard working on different obedience commands with a dropped lash and also find dad, find mom and find Ara.
Ara and Luke Team work - Ara leading a training session mostly basic obedience including sit, down, stand, around, place, stay and heel.
Basic Obedience - As always we work on basic obedience and things like leave it, drop it and recall
Outings:
Home Show - We went to the huge home show (over 20,000 people come). We got to meet lots of new people, including a man in a duck costume. Some of the businesses that had booths had dogs at them and I am so proud that Luke ignored them all. He did great working around and through the crowds, noises and heavy distractions. The only thing that did cause some hesitation for him was a man sitting in a corner where a big cowboy hat, I asked if it was ok if we came over to say HI and the man agreed. Once Luke realized it was just a man he was fine. We got some great compliments and no one could believe he was only 16mo old, because he was so well behaved and regal.
Therapies - Every week we go the therapy twice a week for OT and ST. While at therapy we work on down stays, Button (paw touch to push plates to open doors), under, guide work, and the building has the stairs that Ara struggles with so we work on them as well. When needed Luke also works on DPT, Distress Response, Behavior Interruption and Tactile Stimulation (licking her when she needs sensory input).
Walmart/ect - Grocery shopping is always fun and always interesting when you have a service dog. We work on general public access training, guide work, block, over right and left, any tasks Ara needs that day, find out and find car. Luke is amazing at find out and find car. He was able to find the car when I did not remember were we had parked. We always get alot of people stopping us to ask questions or asking to pet Luke, he is a pro at ignoring people and especially when doing the "find" task nothing will stop him until he reaches his goal (except me saying "stop" which is our emergency stop command)
Hospital and Doctors Appointments - These two places cause Ara to have extreme anxiety. We worked on stairs, guiding, under (even under small chairs), and any tasks Ara needs while there such as DPT, block, behavior response ect.
Petsmart - Working on Luke ignoring other dogs and not barking/whining back at them when they talk to him. Luke loves to play with other dogs and while he has been making great progress at ignoring them while vested we are also working on it while not vested. He did awesome with the short sessions we did.
We had a lot of fun this week and a few pit falls. No dog is perfect as you will soon read, but we as always use every opportunity for training. I also want to say how wonderful people have been with Luke's training and having patience with us.
Skills (At Home Training):
Tricks - So we are adding in some just for fun/body awareness training. We are working on "Spin" in both directions and him weaving between legs. We will be adding in more as we go. These are really fun for Luke but also challenge him and help him with body awareness, which in turn helps with his service dog work.
Distress Response and DPT - More and more Luke is doing distress response on his own, we are adding in the DPT with the response and also working on DPT with out the distress aspect. We are calling DPT "cuddle" even though it is much more than that.
Paw Touch - Working on paw touch both for hitting the buttons for doors as well as for alerts or to get help.
Obedience - We are working on distance of obedience commands as well as place, off leash obedience and just overall stepping up the level of obedience. I also let Ara have her own training session with Luke. She was in charge of the treats and giving the basic commands. She did great :) and so did Luke.
Outside - the weather was some what nice so we worked on some team work as well. We walked around our neighborhood with Ara giving Luke commands and working on straight lines of walking, with obstacle avoidance and stopping at intersections.
Outings:
Doctor Appointments - Guide tasks, distractions, under (chair), down stay and focusing on Ara
Dentist- So this is were we see Luke having an off day. Luke did great with paw touch for opening the door, watch me and guiding. How ever he was very antsy and did not want to do a down while I was filling out paper work and Ara was playing with toys. We were one of two patients there at the time so they had Ara back in no time. Once Ara was in the chair Luke laid down but would not be still he kept readjusting and moving around then he alert barked when he heard heavy foot steps and then barked again when a door slammed. Each time it was only one bark and I was able to get him focused back on me. He did finally settle down after doing so focus exercise and after Ara told him she was ok. I apologized to the staff about him barking but they said it was ok and they understood he was in training. So what do you do in this situation? For us I will first try to redirect Luke and get him refocused if that does not work I will remove him from the situation get him to refocus and then try again. We are working on a different way for Luke to alert through paw touch. I dont want to take away his ability to tell us something so that is why we are working to shape this differently. **if your dog is showing any signs of fear, aggression or stress. Please remove the dog from the situation and consult a trainer for additional help**
Therapy Appointments - We are working more and more on Ara and Luke's teamwork as this is a place that is very comfortable for them both. We also worked a little on stairs, down stays, Ara doing "watch me" and paw touch
Hospital - Ara's Papa had to go to the hospital for a few days and we were able to visit him. Luke did very well. We had to walk across a busy road to get to the hospital and Luke did great with the intersection and guiding. Once in the room we let him say hi to Papa, and Luke ignored all the noises of the machines, doors opening/closing, knocking ect. Luke helped Ara by doing a block, licking her arms to try and get her to focus on him and we had to leave because her anxiety was getting too high. Luke lead her out to the hall way and we waited for the rest of the family. The fact that we made it into the hospital with out a meltdown is huge for Ara.
Sams Club - This was an odd start to this trip. We sat down to eat some pizza before shopping and as we were finishing up a older lady came up and said "what kind of dog is that" pointing under the table. I told her he was a standard poodle and the women all but climbed under our table to see him and was making noises to try and get him to come out. Then she says something about "sneaking him in" I said no he is my daughter service dog and is allowed in with her. She finally left, but that was the first time I had someone almost climb under a table to see him and invading our space so much. What did Luke do while this was going on? He ignored her and did not move an inch. We worked on a little team work and verbal commands while shopping and getting Luke to watch Ara for directional cues. Also did some DPT using his head and body while Ara was sitting.
We also went to a few other stores this week as well, working in narrow isles with many obstacles and working on right and left over, which is starting to really come along nicely.
So we had a lot of great team work opportunities and training this week and we had some not so good moments, but that comes with training. Dogs are not robots and will have off days like we all do.
