Day 11: Still learning!

Today, Mike and I went in early to work with one of the trainers on seizure work. We wanted to find out what we should be doing since Si's seizures have been in "remission" for almost a year now. We don't want Abbott to lose the ability to detect and alert for seizures which the trainers at 4 Paws have developed in him, because we don't know when Si's seizures will return. Jeremy said we should practice (to Abbott, this is "playing the seizure game") daily at home until Abbott gets really good, then we can ease off to weekly. So, in case you have forgotten, the way we play the game is first by getting him to bark on command, then bark on command while we are sitting on the floor, then bark on command while we are laying on the floor, then bark on command while we are making Si's seizure movements on the floor, then bark (with no command) while we make the seizure movements on the floor. That sounds like a lot, but Mike, with Jeremy's instruction, was able to get through that whole protocol today, to the point where he just had to make the seizure motion and Abbot would bark. Each time Abbott barked for the seizure motion, he got the creme de la creme treat, Bil-Jac.

There are a few things we will need to remember and do to make this skill transferable to Si. We will both play the part of the seizing Si, and we will probably invite a few others to play the game, too. The more people Abbott plays it with, the better he will understand that "Everybody knows this game!" so when Si has a real seizure, he will bark like he is playing the game, too. Another important aspect is playing the game in the places we want Abbott to detect seizures.For us, that will mean playing on Si's bed. During the day, we are usually close at hand to see if Si is seizing. Night time is one of the times we really want to depend on Abbott for seizure alert. So we will play the game on Si's bed, in the dark. That way Abbott gets used to feeling the movement and identifying it, as opposed to just seeing it. Once we get home and get in a pattern of successful sessions, we will start to leave the Bil-Jac in the fridge, so that Abbott learns not to expect it immediately after his bark alert. That will be more realistic to a seizure situation. Finally, we have to keep the training sessions fun, so once he correctly barks at the seizure movement, we will do it again maybe six more times, then move on to another activity.

Here is Mike, practicing with Abbott today:

Another tip for helping dogs learn to alert at night: place a delicious lump of aromatic Bil-Jac on the ground a few inches from their nose while they are sleeping. Some dogs may take up to five minutes to sniff it and wake up, whereas other will quickly sniff and gobble. We want Abbott to "sleep with one nostril open" so he can smell any impending seizures, so this is something simple we can practice.

The dogs also worked on human food distraction training today with a bowl of tomato soup. Abbott did so well!

And Si furthered the training with some fruit snacks:

We learned a lot about flying with dogs today. Several of the families flew here, so their dogs are getting their first airplane ride on the way home. I am really glad we were able to drive!

Once we get home, we will have a period of time where the dog is getting acclimated to our home and yard. It's important that we keep up the training we have done at 4 Paws right when we get home, because the dogs will be wondering, "Do I have to obey at this joint or not?" They need to know that the rules absolutely apply. We should allow the dog to walk free on the leash and sniff around the whole house when we get there. Then we should practice heeling, sits and downs, just to get the message across that this place is under the same management as 4 Paws and our hotel was. We should also practice the place command, distractions, behavior disruption commands and seizure work.

Finally, Jeremy said not to go around doing a "Welcome Home, Abbot" tour the first month. Give the dog time to get into a rhythm at your home and with your child. Everyone will get a chance to meet him, but both your family and the dog need time to settle in.

Si continues to do well with tethering and bonding with Abbott:

They both were exhausted by the end of the day-- Si fell asleep shortly after this picture was taken.

And here's one last picture of the buddies hanging out:

Tomorrow morning is our certification test for public access with a service dog (Abbott). Tomorrow afternoon is graduation. Lots of important events that hopefully end with all 4 of us at HOME SWEET HOME. All prayers and positive thoughts for a smooth and successful day are very appreciated!
Thanks for reading!

Day 10: Practice, Practice and more Practice.

We have just two days left with 4 Paws, and Friday is our Public Access test. If we don't pass this, then we don't get to bring Abbott home. However, never fear, we had our dress rehearsal today, and Abbott performed like the champion canine that he is. Today we didn't learn much new, so here are a couple of pictures from practice.

 Here is "Bobo" taking Abbott for his 10pm potty break. Abbott doesn't yet have the bladder to make it from 7:30 to 7:30 when Si sleeps so each night Mike gets him up and they practice various elements of what we've covered in class. Since Abbott will be staying with Bobo, she needs to be trained, so Bobo got a first hand look at what it was like to walk with a dog that heels!

We did some practice at Target today, Abbott does really well with Si, and he's so gentle, even when Si doesn't reciprocate. Si enjoys walking Abbott, and the tether gives Si freedom that he can't get from holding hands with an adult or riding in the cart. It also gives us as parents peace of mind to know that he will be reasonably close when we have to pay for groceries, or are trying to decide which item to buy. 

    We did work on various scenarios that we may encounter. For instance at school, Si will have to walk on Abbott's right side where the handler typically is. This is because the handrail at Greenwood is on the right side, and the goal is to get Si independent walking the halls between the rail and Abbott. So we have to create a command for this when we get home. 4 Paws suggested "Walk" as this command, and if we only do it at school, Abbott shouldn't get confused. 

    In public we learned that dogs get very excited in places where other dogs are allowed, specifically a Petsmart or a Pet Supplies Plus, so if we don't have to bring them in with us, it's best that we don't. 

Short post tonight, our energy levels are really getting low! Seizure detection work in the morning, taking our dog home preparation in the afternoon, and Friday is Public Access Test and Graduation! Thanks for all your support!

Day Nine: Mobility support, "Over", and some tummy meds . . .

Today we learned a way that Abbot can help us with some tasks that are getting hard now that Si is getting bigger. Up til now, we have been lifting Si into the bathtub, which is hard for me since he is almost 50 pounds. Si is somewhat able to step in, but he often loses his balance. Abbot can help by standing and allowing Si to use his shoulders as a touch-point. It's important to note that Si will not be putting all his weight on Abbot-- that would be very hard on Abbot and could really hurt him. Here is the training process we will use. First, we are getting Abbot excited about bath time. So far, he had steered clear of that excitement. Ha! So today, while Mike and his mom bathed Si, Mike called Abbot over and gave him treats throughout the bath process. Abbot was very happy to be there once the treats started being doled out! Once Abbot is in the habit of being present for Si's bath, we will work on having him "stand" next to the bath tub while Si gets in and out (and treat him). Once that becomes a habit, we will teach Si how to touch Abbot's shoulders as he steps in. This will also be something we can work on at physical therapy. It's super important that Si uses the correct part of Abbot's shoulders and not his back. It's the meaty part at the base of his neck where his shoulders meet. That is the most stable part of his back. We are excited to gradually work toward this so that Si can start to feel more in control and capable and he can get baths even when he is just home with mommy (rather than wait for daddy to lift him in!).

A few interesting points from Q&A today:

• Don't use the dog's name much during obedience training. They need to learn to be alert and ready without having us say their name. Ideally, when working, they will be watching/listening for us all times.
• If something happens to really distract your dog when he is supposed to be heeling, go in the opposite direction of the distraction and stop and practice "sits" and "downs".
• Canine Carryout treats from WalMart are a little cheaper than Puperoni and are another treat you can add to your dog's repertoire if he gets bored with treats easily. We are lucky because Abbot is stoked just to get a piece of regular dog food. Some of the pups in class need a lot of variety to keep them interested.
• This is not appropriate for search and rescue dogs, but it is something we can do with Abbot. We can play hide and seek. We can have Si hide with treats and yell Abbot's name. We can tell Abbot "Find him!" When he finds Si, Si can give him the treats. This will take some training of both child and dog, but I think they both would have such a blast once they figured it out! We will definitely try this once we get settled in at home!

The next command we learned today was "over". This is when the dog lays their whole body across the child's lap to provide deep pressure, which can be really soothing for some people. This command needs to be practiced separately from "lap" because otherwise you get a dog who comes up, puts his head on your lap, then automatically lays his body across your lap. It was easy to do this command with Abbot. You  sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you and the dog on one side. Take a treat in the hand on the opposite side of the dog and lure him across your legs with it, while saying "Over". Once his front elbows are on the ground, and tummy is on your legs, he's in "over" position. The elbows can dig into the child, which is why we aim to have them on the ground. Here's Abbot in "Over":

This afternoon Mike and Abbot worked on some specialized mobility training, but I will need Mike to translate the notes he wrote down before I share too much on that. In other news, Doc C., the 4 Paws vet, prescribed some meds for Abbot. He is having some lower GI issues that the meds will hopefully clear up. There are several ways I feel like the parent of a newborn right now, and one of them is definitely having to keep a "poop journal". :)

Here are some pics from throughout the day:

Si and Abbot in the 4 Paws play yard

Si knows to grab Abbot's handle when it is time to go!

Si is getting more relaxed giving Abbot treats.

And no day is complete without Si's end of day chore: feeding Abbot dinner. He really enjoys helping in this way.

Day Eight: Kisses and Tethering

We went in a little early today to practice with item retrieval. Abbot is doing well with picking up a dropped object and putting it in the box. Now we can start edging the box away from us, so he can get more used to taking the object to a desired location (Si) instead of returning it to us. This has to be done very gradually, say a foot at a time, per practice session.

During Q&A, we talked some more about seizure alert. A lot of our kids have "clusters" of seizures. You have one, then not long after you have another, and so forth. A seizure alert dog most likely will only alert to the first seizure in the cluster. If you remember when I explained the way the scent cells get full of smell and we stop noticing a smell, well this explains why the dog only alerts to the first seizure in the group. Now if the child goes from a small seizure to a big one, they might alert because it would be a more intense smell. One good tip is to air the room out after a big seizure, changing the begging and opening the windows. This will help to get the dog's nose refreshed and back to baseline. Another good piece of info is that, if you change seizure meds, that will change the child's innate smell, so this could throw off the dog's ability to alert until he gets used to the new smell. Jeremy made the point that the bigger concerns are smells that we emanate-- our body chemistry creates them-- as opposed to a change in fabric softener, etc. Jeremy also suggested that if you notice your dog "air-scenting" (putting its nose in the air with its mouth closed) you can "free" the dog and watch where it goes. This will help you make sure you don't miss an attempted alert.

Several people asked about the safest way for a dog to travel in the car. There is a seat-belt attachment you can purchase that allows you to somewhat harness your dog, so that, in the event of an accident, he will not slam into the seat in front of him or be ejected. Jeremy said this is the best restraint for our dogs.

We will learn more about service dog law later, but one question was about pet deposits at hotels. It is illegal to require a pet deposit for a service dog. It would be like asking for a wheelchair deposit from someone in a wheelchair. Now obviously, if your dog causes any damage, you would be responsible for that. But pet fees upfront are illegal for service animals.

Si had a hard time this morning for whatever reason- maybe a case of the Mondays. We used the lap command to help him snap out of his tantrum.

The first new command today was "kisses". This is not one we will be practicing with Abbot, because it looks too much like seizure alerting. But for those of you who would like to use it for fun or for behavioral intervention with your own kids, here is how you do it. You start with some peanut butter on your finger, give the command "kisses", have the dog lick the PB hand, then say "good" and give a treat. You repeat that quickly for about five minutes. Then you would do a session of this every few days, eventually being able to fade the peanut butter.

Tethering-- there are two modes of tethering: stationary and in a heel. Stationary will be used, say, when I am paying at Target. I will put Abbot in a down. Abbot will not move, despite many tugs from Si on his tether cord. We are not to practice this with Si, because we sure don't want to encourage him to tug at Abbot. Mike practiced this as handler while another dad played Si's role. Abbot did really well! The handler gives a lot of good treats during this, so that the dog is super-focused on the handler and doing what the handler wants. :) When we do this in a heel, the rules are the same, but we are walking. Abbot will be watching Mike or I like a hawk, staying right with us in a heel, and Si will be following or next to him. We have a special tethering handle for Si to hold, that keeps him close to Abbot but gives him a feeling of control. Si did not often actually pull at the tether cord when we were walking, as he was working to keep up and hold his handle. They both did great!

Si did not mind tethering at all and Abbot was way into it. Si was super excited because his tether belt is a Superman one with "S" logos on it. It is actually a giant adjustable dog collar! After such a good job, the boys got to take a mall train ride. They were way too interested in the scenery to pose for a picture, but here's what I got!

And here is a family picture of our first tethering outing:

Finally it has been brought to my attention by Mike that most of Abbot's things from 4 Paws say Abbott with two T's. So perhaps his letter of introduction had a typo. Regardless, please feel free to use as many T's as desired. Just don't call him late for dinner, and he should be happy!

And on the seventh day, we learned about TOYS!

Today started per usual with Q&A. We had some questions about walking three across. The world just does not seem built for this! Jeremy said we can deal with this by sending Si and Abbot ahead through narrow walkways. This will take some practice. We are also experiencing some balking by Abbot when prompting him to hop in the back seat of our car. Jeremy said to first have him jump to the floorboards, then up to the seat. That way it is not such a big leap. We will also add treats to the mix for now.

When we arrived at 4 Paws today, we were excited to learn that the pregnant golden retriever we had been watching all week had her pups around 4 this morning! This lady was VERY pregnant, and now I know why: she had 12 puppies!! 10 of them made it and we were privileged to get a close look at one of the little boys.

Mama is doing well and looks much more comfortable!

I did not realize how much I had to learn about choosing appropriate toys for Abbot. But this is great info for all dog owners, so get ready!

• Stay away from all animal parts! Chewing on these brings out undomesticated instincts, as opposed to the refined ones we want to cultivate.
• Stay away from rawhide. First, it is often cleaned with formaldehyde and insecticides while in production. Second, if ingested, it can cause a bowel obstruction. And third, it is leather, so they will then start to think that other leather items are also allowed for chewing, such as shoes, gloves, leashes, etc.
• Real bones are also a no-no. They can shatter and obstruct or stab through the intestines. All bones can do this, but chicken and turkey bones are notorious for this.
• Nix the rope toys, too. The strings come off and when ingested, can get wrapped in the intestines.
• If you are okay with the occasional backyard bunny massacre, then squeaky stuffed small animal toys are ok. But Jeremy said that these train dogs to hunt and hurt small animals. The squeaker sounds like an injured bunny, then the dog goes after it and "kills" it and brings it back to you to start all over.
• An important differentiation to make is between the PLAY toy and the CHEW toy. Play toys are just for interactive supervised play. A tennis ball is a good example. You don't want the dog to have that in his crate and chew it and ingest the rubber and fuzz. A chew toy is one the dog can have whether supervised or not, such as a Nylabone or Kong. Jeremy said not to buy a whole library of toys-- this can overwhelm and confuse the dog about what is allowed and what is off limits. Just one favorite Nylabone is plenty and keeps it simple for the dog.
• Nylabones are safe because they break down in tiny bits that can't harm the dog. That being said, once the dog has chewed it down to the point where he could accidentally swallow it, we need to get rid of it and replace it.  A Nylabone should last 4 to 6 months, unless you have a power-chewer (a dog who might chew six hours a day) in which case you would need to replace it sooner.
• Kongs are a great mental pacifier for dogs. You can't really play catch with them because they are dense rubber that could hurt the dog's teeth, but you can throw it and let them fetch it. You can tuck a treat or some peanut butter in them. Don't FILL it with PB or you will end up with a nasty peanut butter coating in that room. One family even ended up with a hole chewed in their carpet, where the PB had leaked out! Yuck.
• Outside toys: It's good to have an outside ONLY toy for your dog. Two suggestions were the "Jolly Ball" and the "Buster Cube". The Buster Cube looked pretty fun and I think I will look into that for Abbot.
• Tug toys: Big NO. These toys are used for a battle of wills/ establishing dominance. The dog believes that whoever walks away with the tug toy is top dog. This really is counter to what we are establishing with obedience training.
• Same with wrestling-- dogs see it as competitive and to establish dominance.

We also worked on some behavior disruption techniques today. We had done the "lap" command previously. One important point is that it won't be as easy in real life, with a crying/mad Si. So we will practice with Mike and I, and hopefully get Si on board to practice when he is happy. The sequence for that will be: Tell Abbot "lap" and walk him over to Si. Then tell him "down" next to Si, then treat him. The more we practice, the better we'll get.

Today we learned the "Nuzzle" command. Apparently all my life I thought nuzzling was something different. A true nuzzle is when the dog comes to you, puts its nose under your arm and bumps it. It's not kisses or sniffing your face. This command can work to help a child who is having a melt-down or just a regular tantrum or crying. To practice, we will mimic the sounds and behaviors of our child (This will be done when Si is not around.) when we want Abbot to nuzzle. We will have the high value treat in our hands, sit on the floor and do the negative behavior while commanding "nuzzle". Any time Abbot bumps my arm with his nose, I will treat him. This is harder than it sounds. First, it is rather humbling to sit on the floor and make ridiculous whining sounds at your dog! More importantly, I felt at times like he was just trying to get the treat from my hand. But Jeremy said just hold tight to the treat and don't reward unless it is a bona fide nuzzle. One point he has made throughout the last week is that, whatever you reward is what you will get. So make sure the dog is doing it exactly how you want it before treating them.

Last today, we started preparing for tethering training. I am REALLY looking forward to this. Si has improved some, but he still wants to run off in stores and in parking lots at times, which is unacceptable.  We will get Si a "belt" (giant dog collar that will fit around his waist) with a D ring on it to wear and then there is a tether cord that will hook to Abbot's harness. Si will also have his own leash to hold, so he can feel like he is walking Abbot, too. I am really hopeful that this will help in stores. Si is almost 50 pounds, and we usually have to lift him into the cart so he does not run off. It's getting impossible for me to do alone. This way, he can walk like he wants to and I can be sure that he doesn't slip away while I am paying, etc.

Si continues to develop a bond with Abbot. He loves to feed Abbot every morning and night. He dumps the scoops of food in the dish and lowers it to the ground, then squeals, "Eat, Abbot!!" Today, Si and dad came back to the hotel to swim while Abbot and I attended the afternoon session. After swimming, Si kept going to the door of the hotel room and crying "Abbot!! Abbot!!" Abbot has definitely embraced Si and Si loves being able to really snuggle with him.

Day Six: Seizure work, recall, health and grooming, too!

Today we began as usual with Q&A, which I will share later. We then delved a little deeper into seizure work. One of the commands we will use in seizure work and behavior regulation is "lap". This is asking the dog to lay his head on or against the child. This is a command the dogs tend to enjoy, because it is relaxing. I mean really, who doesn't like to put their head on someone and have the person stroke their hair and speak soothingly? So, we sit with our legs out straight, point to our lap and say "lap". The dog should rest his head on our leg. We praise just verbally (softly) and with petting (no treat). It may actually put the dog to sleep, and that is fine. We ideally will have Si practice this, when he is relaxed and calm. We need to practice it A LOT so that when Si needs it, Abbot will do it automatically.

A lot of us want the dogs to be able to alert to night time seizures, so we can know and go to our kids. To practice for this, we will get in the bed, bring the dog onto the bed, and practice barking on command. Once they are doing that comfortably in the bed environment, then we can start making movements like a seizure and commanding "bark". We want the dog to equivocate that seizure movement with the BEST treat, so once he barks while we are making the seizure movement, we will "make it rain" Bil-Jac and praise. This method can be carried over to any environment where your child has seizures-- the car, church, anywhere. It is good to anticipate and practice in as many possible locations as possible. That way the dog knows, "Oh, we play the seizure game here, too!" and when a real seizure strikes, he will bark for that Bil-Jac! It's going to take me a bit to get a fake seizure down. Every time the trainers do it in class I tear up. But I am going to do it!

The other big command we learned today is "come". Jeremy started by describing the way most people teach "come" and why it's not the best way to go about it. For teaching come, you should use high value treats and practice in a contained, off-leash situation. You start by just saying "come" when the dog is right in front of you and treat him right away. This associates the word with yummy treats. After doing that for five minutes or so, let the dog go off and get distracted. Then you can say their name and "come". Some guidelines for using this command: Don't have the dog come to you just to be punished (eg. you find a torn up shoe and yell "come!!!"). Don't only use "come" to get him to come in and get in his kennel. These are negative consequences for the command, and we need to keep it positive and fun. If the dog does not come when you give the command, go to the dog and say "No" and give a tug. When practicing, be sure to give treats each time the dog comes.

We started our health discussion with teeth. They should be brushed about three times a week, and Jeremy said this can add two years to a dog's life! No toothpaste is needed, as we are really just knocking the plaque off the outsides of the teeth. He recommends the finger brush, because then you can feel what you are doing and make sure you are not stabbing your poor dog in the back of the throat. He told us to start by massaging the dog's muzzle, then run your fingers across the dog's gums to get him ready for brushing. I tried that with Abbot today, and he was completely amenable to the experience!

Jeremy also said to get the dog's teeth professionally cleaned once or twice a year, depending on his plaque situation, etc. He said small dogs tend to get more plaque, which I thought was interesting. He said it has a lot to do with genetics.

Dogs do get sleepers in their eyes like humans. We only need to worry and call the vet if the drainage is green or yellow. I guess some things are the same in humans and dogs!

Dogs can get ear infections, and often one ear will look lopsided, several inches lower than the other one. The dog also may paw at his ear. In order to avoid this type of situation, we need to clean their ears every two weeks. There is an "ear wash" product that has a cleaning and drying agent in it. Jeremy suggested warming the bottle up in the microwave and testing it like a baby bottle, to make sure it is warm but not hot. Then, if possible, take the dog outdoors, and put several drops in each ear, massaging the base of the ear for about 45 seconds. The dog will then shake it out, making it spray everywhere. Then you can use cotton balls to get any excess left in the ear. Jeremy likes to work it into a game of ball, so the dog is having fun and then has fun again afterwards.

We lucked out in terms of grooming our dog's coat. Labs don't require very intensive fur care and they don't get ear hairs (Woohoo!).We can use a shedding blade if necessary, but a slicker brush can also help with burrs and dried mud. We will also get a soft rubber brush for Si to use on Abbot, as one of his pet owner chores. We will keep an eye on any hair growing between his paw pads, as that can make them slip on smooth surfaces, and it also can pick up snow and ice in the winter. I can't imagine coming in on a January day with ice stuck between my toes!! We can trim the hair with a little electric trimmer.

For bathing, we may need to get a sprayer extension for the shower, so we can really hold it up against his skin. Jeremy said to be sure to close his ears when shampooing to avoid ear problems and clean ears again after the bath to make sure we get them dry. We should bathe Abbot no more than once a week and we can use any dog shampoo. He said the dry shampoos advertised don't really work. I think that is also true for human dry shampoos-- another similarity!

Nails-- definitely the most intimidating thing about dog grooming (unless you want to talk rectal glands-- we haven't discussed that yet!!). Because Abbot is black, we can't see the quick (where the blood in in the nails) through the nails. We need to turn the nail over and look underneath to find the fleshy part. Well, I tried that and it all looked fleshy. So I am going to let them grow two weeks and then look again. We should trim their nails every 4 to 6 weeks with "bypass" nail trimmers and then file them down a little. Abbot is really good about letting me be in his business, so that part should be easy. The first time will probably take an hour, so I appreciate his patience!!

Now for the Q&A tidbits:

• Right now the dogs are trying to figure out if they have to behave for us like they do at 4 Paws. We need to be consistent with corrections and praise and the respect will come!
• The more new places we can go with the dogs, and praise and correct them the same way, the more they will realize the rules still always apply.
• You can talk dogs into anything with your voice, by getting higher and more excited: "Attaboy! Attaboy!" Abbot is a little hesitant to jump into our car, so all three of us are attaboy-ing like crazy!
• Dogs' excitement can be thought of as on a dial, from 0 to 100. You have to think about it and dial it back or dial it up depending on your goal for the situation.
• Dogs will play on, even with an injury. They are that kid who is having so much fun, he does not want to stop, even though he is bleeding, etc. Once the play is done, then they may start to limp, etc. So we really need to keep an eye on them to make sure they are ok.
• We should not allow our dogs to wrestle with other dogs.
• If the dog has trouble with going in the crate (separation anxiety), a Kong toy with a treat or peanut butter in it in his crate can be a great way to ease the transition.
• Abbot's neck is as strong and dense as Mike's thigh. So we can probably put a little more oomph into our corrections with the gentle leader, when needed. (Seeing as he does not seem to even feel it when I do it!)
• Since Abbot is doing balance work for Si, we will stick with the gentle leader collar for at least a year in public, as opposed to the training collar (chain style).

We ate out with Abbot twice today and he did wonderfully. Here he is under the table at Arby's.

Abbot is so sweet and patient with Si, and Si is getting more and more comfortable snuggling and hugging Abbot.

Well, we are half way done with training! I can't believe it! We have met some wonderful friends and have already grown and stretched in new ways. I am excited to see what the next six days bring! Thanks for reading.

Day Five: Item Retrieval, Distractions and Dining Out

The day began on a super sweet note, with Si and Abbot self-selecting to lay on the bed and cuddle together. I expected to be commanding Abbot to cuddle and rewarding him for the first few months, but they seem to be on the fast track to BFF-hood!

We started off with some specialized training-- item retrieval. This is for anyone who has limited mobility and will need their dog to pick things up when they are dropped. This training is done off-leash, and as a game. It should not be practiced more than five or ten minutes at a time, as then it becomes more like work for the dog. We practice with random items Si might have-- toys, sippy cups, etc. We throw it, say "Take it!" and then once the dog has it, say "Bring it!" and reward with a high value treat, such as Puperoni. The trainer says it is up to us in terms of whether we want the dog to place it in our hand or just set it near us. We can hold off on the treat and the praise until he puts it in our hand. Some of the items are a little challenging for the dogs to get a grip on and control, so we will keep that in mind. Abbot had a hard time getting a skinny board book, for example.

That's what we do if we want Abbot to bring us the item. Now, what if we want him to take it to Si? Well, they have trained the dogs for that, too. They use just a plastic organizing shoe-box sized bin, and began training the dog to like the box. They would put a treat in it and say "box!" and just repeat that until the dog knows that the box is a good place to go to. So now, we can put the box between Abbot and us and throw an item, say "Take it!" and then once he has it, say "Box!" and he will take it to the box and drop it in. (All followed by lots of praise and a treat!)

The rest of the morning was preparation for our afternoon at the mall. We got lots of good tips. If your dog appears to be afraid of something, like a statue or a fire hydrant, instead of avoiding that thing, you should show them yourself getting close to the item, letting the dog stay behind you so s/he  can observe that it is ok from a safe distance. That way they don't develop a phobia.

Petting: It is ok to allow people to pet a service dog when s/he is in a down. If the dog start to break his command while they are petting him, ask the people to stop for a second, correct the dog, then allow them to resume. Belly rubs are ok, if the dog is in a down. We will have little kids come up and bear hug our dogs. If that happens, we will get down close to the dog and the child and praise the heck out of our dog, so s/he learns to be ok with little ones. For readers who are wondering about service dog etiquette, you should always ask to pet first. Sometimes it may be hard to tell that a dog is doing a working task. Or the handler might have a child who has reached his/her limit and be in a hurry.  One of the times we can't allow people to pet Abbot is when he is doing balance work for Si. He will need to focus on stabilizing his body for Si.

For the handlers, we must keep in mind that no distraction is an excuse to break a command. We practiced more distractions this morning that might occur at the mall.

Abbot did great ignoring the distractions and gave daddy a high-five!

The next thing we learned was how to get the dog under the table when you go out to eat. Jeremy shared that dogs don't really notice boundaries above them, so the chairs are really the defining factors for the space. So if you are at the mall and it's just a pedestal table, you can use the chairs around it to help create a safe spot for your dog, so he does not get stepped on or tripped over. The gesture to get the dog under the table is a downward point and flick, toward the space you want him to go in, while saying "Under." I really did not even have to verbalize for this one-- Abbot knew what to do! When the dog is under the table, the handler MUST have a hand on the leash, just to be safe.

Before we left for the mall, we made sure the dogs all had a chance to relieve themselves. Jeremy also educated us about the dangers for dogs on escalators. Their nails and paw pads can get caught in the in-take and out-take at the top and bottom of the escalator. Yikes! No escalators for us! Next, we learned how to put on Abbot's harness! Then he REALLY looked like a bona fide service dog!

Si was excited to get moving and he picked up on his job to hold Abbot's handle right away!

Abbot did really well handling the excitement at the mall, even staying in a down for an hour while we sat at the kids play area at the mall! Kids were running, jumping, and screeching all around him, and he handled it like a champ. We need to work on heeling at the mall and other places. He definitely was amped up at the mall and not heeling like he has done typically at 4 Paws. We found that we could not leave the slack in his leash like you are supposed to. So we will definitely be asking for tips and be sure to practice this lots more in public.

Speaking of handling things like a champ, we have been very grateful to have my mom here with us this week. She has kept Si entertained during the "meat and potatoes" lessons that are more for mom and dad, which is no easy feat. 

Thank you, Nana, for spending this week with us! We love you!!

We also have met a very sweet little boy named Angel who has taken Si under his wing. He is in fifth grade and is also receiving a dog. He will play with Si just like a big brother would and Si LOVES it! It is so awesome to see children looking out for other children! Here they are today at the mall.

Tomorrow is another day of training and officially the half-way point! The days are going fast. Everyone is working hard, learning a lot, and dog-tired! Thanks for reading!

Day 4: Shopping, "Bark" and "Place"

The day began with a little "Paw Patrol" on TV for the boys, who seem to have similar taste in programs.

Today at dog school, we did a little more work with the "heel" command, for use when we are pushing a shopping cart, wheelchair or stroller. We hold the leash in the left hand and keep the dog on the left. The dog may align the "heel" to the back wheel of the cart. This is just because they can't see around the cart if they heel to your left leg. This was actually pretty easy to do in practice, but I am sure it will be a little more challenging in the crowded aisles at the grocery store.

We also did some mass distraction training-- having all the dogs out in the center and walking around them to distract them. They did wonderfully!

Next, we went over the bark command. When practicing this, it's important to remove the dog's gentle leader collar so they really feel free to let loose and bark. We practice by standing in front of them, treat in hand, and saying, "Bark!" The trainers do it with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. It's a game for the dogs, so you want to make it fun. A lot of the dogs started with a little "huff" of a bark, in which case you escalate your voice and excitement and say "Bark!" again. You continue this until you get the desired loudness. Be sure to tell them "Good boy!!" when they do bark. For seizure alert, we want a loud bark. One important detail is to let the dog swallow the treat fully before starting the process again, so he does not choke or projectile bark at you! Sometimes the dogs enjoy this so much that they don't want to stop barking. In this case, put the dog in a "down" and ignore, if need be.

Besides using the word "bark" to elicit a bark, we seizure families are learning how to get the dogs to bark at a telltale sound or sight of a seizure. So we would master the bark command, then do the same game, but with the seizure sound our child makes. For this, we will use the "high value" treats only.

The dogs also got their "place" mats today. These are Mutt Mats-- a thin rectangular dog bed that the dog knows as its "place". To get the dog to lay on his place mat, tell him "place" and then give him a second to get on the mat. Then throw a treat on the mat. He should naturally lay down on his mat, but if he doesn't, we give the "down" command. Abbot was great at this and Si liked sitting with him there.

Now for the Q&A tidbits. We learned some interesting facts about seizure alert today. Most dogs will only alert one time for a seizure, which is why it is so important we get that bark training down so mom and dad can go in and check on things. (This is also why it's important to discourage barking for any other reason.) As you may have read, dogs have 125 million olfactory cells, whereas humans have 5 million. But they work the same-- they get full of a scent, and then they can't smell it anymore. Just like when you go into a room with a strong odor-- after ten minutes, you may not really notice that odor anymore. It has become your new baseline. If a child is having small seizures frequently, that is the dog's baseline, so he won't alert for every small seizure. But he will alert at some point to an upcoming large seizure, because that gives a stronger scent. The dog's window for alerting can vary. Some dogs will alert 24 hours in advance, while others might not catch the scent until an hour before the seizure. The best way to figure out your dog's typical time frame is by keeping a notebook. When the dog alerts (licking ears, face, or neck; and barking) jot down the time and then jot down when the seizure happens, what kind of seizure it was, etc. Over time, you will start to see a pattern develop which will help you begin to predict how soon to expect the seizure after the alert. Pretty awesome!

Another parent asked about making sure the dog does not run out an open door. Jeremy said to use the "back" command or just use a leg to push them away from the door. Another point Jeremy made is to be proactive with discipline. Correct them when they show interest in forbidden things to avoid them pursuing those things. So say "No!" when he sniffs the garbage, to avoid him delving deeper into the garbage can tomorrow.

A question was asked about aggressive dogs, which is something I have been concerned about. We want to keep Abbot safe at all times. The first thing is avoidance-- places like dog parks are not for us. We don't know the other dogs who will be there that day and their temperaments. Second, if a dog has decided to attack full-steam ahead, there is not a whole lot we can do, unfortunately. It happens very quickly, and as a mom, I am sure I would first be getting Si out of the way of the raging dog, then tending to Abbot. That being said, if the aggressive dog hesitates, Jeremy gave us some tips. You can put your dog in a sit and scream "NO!", you can spray a water bottle at the dog, and you can throw treats at them. Someone then asked, "What would a 4 Paws dog do?" It's a good question, because the dogs are trained to serve children. Jeremy's answer was interesting. He said that dogs which are overly submissive are weeded out of the training program, because they work with kids. They need to be able to withstand a sudden full-body bear hug from their kiddo, and a super timid dog would just run away and be afraid. So 4 Paws dogs are not aggressive, but also not submissive. Perfect little helpers, in my not unbiased opinion! Before I digress too far, his final answer was that yes, a 4 Paws dog would probably defend him or her self, were they attacked by an aggressive dog. I am praying that none of our dogs ever have to experience this!

In a related vein, what about classmates that get too rambunctious with the dog? Many of our kids are in classes with kids who may not be able to understand how to appropriately touch and play with our service dogs. All of the dogs have been desensitized as much as possible. While the dogs are in the prison program, the prison trainers have touch protocols they go through daily, running their fingers over the dogs' gums, in their ears, on their paw pads, etc. This helps the dogs be ready for anything. If you know your dog will be exposed to certain behaviors  like pushing kids, you can practice with GENTLE pushes, giving a high value treat each time. This should be done AWAY from your child, because we don't want them to get any ideas. This type of training can be very important-- if you know your dog will be in a situation like this, it's best to be proactive. Any dog in the world could snap after being attacked by a child (whether the child is willfully doing so or not). Along the same lines, we do not correct a dog who breaks command to get away from someone who has hurt him. He is choosing flight over fight, and that is certainly the better choice for all involved!

Tonight is our second night with Abbot in our room and both boys are equally excited. Si likes to feed Abbot and wants to involve Abbot in all his activities. Here they are showing off their toys. They slept like rocks last night, sharing a bed, and we are hopeful that tonight will go just as swimmingly!

Day Three: Dog School and a Sleepover!

Si is starting to get in the swing of things here and understand the typical daily schedule.

 He now looks forward to hopping in the car each morning for "dog school" and he shouts, "Yay!!! Dog school!" whenever he sees the 4 Paws sign in the distance. Today was a little different because there were special guests at 4 Paws. The Iams food company is donating a HUGE amount of dog food to 4 Paws, which came in on two giant semi trucks this morning. There were some fun photo ops (and lots of distraction training for the dogs) which Si enjoyed being a part of. He even got to meet the Iams spokesdog, Griffin.

Today we learned some good information about keeping dogs healthy in extreme weather. In hot weather, get the dog out of the car last to minimize the time his paws are on the hot cement. The dog's tongue is the temperature gauge. If it is deep red, long and wide, the dog is too hot! Dogs in Ohio typically do not need protective booties, unless you are going to a lengthy outdoor event, like several hours at an amusement park or zoo where there is not cooler grass for the dog to stand on. The ice in Ohio typically will not be sharp enough to damage dog paws, but if you are going to have them standing outside for hours in January, you would want to put some booties on them. Basically, you can treat them the way you would treat your kids. In cold January temps, you would not have them play outside more than an hour or so. In the summer, you make sure they come in and get cooled off every hour or so and watch that they are hydrated. Speaking of hydration, we are keeping an eye on them right now with the hot temps. Si drank 4 "Roaring Waters Hi-C" pouches just during class today! The man plays hard! :)

Each day at the beginning of class, we have a Q&A session and get lots of good tidbits. One important thing is that, if a dog breaks a command (say, "Down") we do not correct them if they broke the command to do another command. For example, if Abbot was in a down, but goes to disrupt a negative behavior, we would reward that. Along the same lines, if a dog does not follow a command, we need to figure out if he is being defiant or if he is confused. Then we need to help him understand or correct him.

One funny story Jeremy told was about when people tell a dog "No bark!". Bark is a command that Abott knows and that we reward because that is what he will do to let us know Si is having a seizure. So let's say Abott starts barking at the mail carrier. If we say "No bark!", to him it sounds like, "No . . . bark!" So in one two word sentence we are telling the dog to stop and then do it again! Poor dog! So, like I mentioned before, we have GOT to keep it to a simple "No!" Oh, and to really correct a bark, you put your hand around their muzzle and say a soft "No."

Today's main lesson was on "heeling". So far, we had just told the dogs "Free!" to let them out of their down or sit command, and then let them kind of loosely walk with us. Heeling means they stay on your left side with their shoulder directly aligned to your left knee. You hold the leash pretty short, but with slack. You do not want to be dragging the dog-- it needs to be the dog wanting to pay attention and stay with you. If the dog starts to go ahead of you, do a 180. We are encouraged to practice heeling while walking slow, so they really learn to watch us rather than run ahead. This is the type of walking we will always do in public. Jeremy gave the example of being in airport or at the mall at Christmastime. You want the dog right next to you to avoid any entanglements with passersby.

Some dogs, when we stop walking while heeling, will automatically sit down, and that is a-ok. For seizure alert and mobility dogs, which Abbot is both, they must stand when we stop. This is to provide balance support (like a cane) and to help should a seizure strike. This is a little tougher for the dogs, so we worked a while on that command. "Stand" uses a gesture of an upside-down peace sign, with the palm facing the dog. You can put a treat under your thumb at first. You move the peace sign from their nose out about 12 inches while saying "stand". They only get the treat if they stand up and stay standing. Sometimes they will army crawl to the treat-- no treat for that! We also have to be careful not to pull up on the leash, as the dogs know this to mean "sit". If we need to correct them, we should tug parallel to the ground.

Another thing we learned today is how to get them from a "down" to a "sit". This gesture looks like a scooping movement, sort of like when you tell someone, "No, after you!" You put the treat under your thumb and scoop the hand with the palm toward the dog and say "Sit". The last thing we did today was practice all the variations of down and sit while standing in different spots around the dog. Imagine the dog is the center of a clock-- we stood at 3, 6, 9 and 12. The dogs would often turn as they did the command, so they could see us, and that is not a bad thing at all. We just want them to get used to doing them no matter where we are.

So the big big excitement of the day was that we got to take Abbot back to our hotel room. Si was so pumped to have Abbot sitting next to him in the car. We are really happy with their bonding so far!

We got Abbot to our room and let him be free to sniff around for a bit. Si loves to throw a toy for Abbot and we were able to capture a little video of that. Hopefully it will be viewable here!

The day ended with cinnamon rolls, a swim in the pool, and snuggling with his pup. I don't think any little boy could ask for more!

Day Two: Taking Obedience Up A Notch . . .and a taste of what's to come

Today was another busy day. We started by getting our dogs out for a potty break. Abbot was excited to see us, get outside, and get some kibble. We took advantage of the time outside to get a family picture by the 4 Paws sign.

Today we learned about corrections. A lot of corrections can be completed non-verbally, by a slight tug on the leash that places pressure on the dog's nose which s/he does not like. We learned that we should always use the same word to designate an undesired behavior: No. Pretty simple, and that's how the dogs like it! We practiced having the dogs stay-- which is an "implied" command. They should stay in the position we put them in until given a new command. However, since we are new pack leaders, they are going to see if we know they are supposed to do that. Just like kids with a new babysitter. :) So we started by putting them in a "sit" and walking circles around them. After a full circle, we told them "good" and treated them. Then we extended it to two circles, and then went counter-clockwise and so forth. Abbot was sooooo good at this! He seems to already respect Mike and I, which is not expected already. Here's Mike doing his circles around Abbot.

Abbot and Si are also bonding well. Si really loves Abbot and gets excited every time he sees him. One thing we need to do to facilitate their bond is to "make fireworks go off" whenever they are together. This can mean bringing out the high-value treats, like Puperoni. It can mean showering Abbot with treats and petting when Si is around and dialing that back quite a bit when Si is not around. This will not always need to be so extreme, but for the first few months, it's a good technique for helping their bond increase.

We also learned some introductory material on behavior marking. This is to train the dog to address any undesirable behaviors of the child. Si may not be having seizures for training, but he is having a good amount of undesirable behaviors. So mom  is pretty excited for this. When he whines, makes ugly sounds or says "No!" we are to mark the behavior with a treat for Abbot. Later in the week, we will see Abbot start to perk up and be ready to work when he hears those sounds. Then we can decide what we want Abbot to do when he hears that sound, such as nuzzle or put his head in Si's lap.

Si is a very busy child, and this does not change for training. Today he spent a lot of time out on the playground or in the indoor play area. He is making friends with lots of the kids. Here he is drawing a chalk "Olaf" with his new friend Ava.

When he is willing to sit in the classroom area, he loves to sit with Abbot. Today he showed Abbot how to color with a marker.

We still have a TON to learn, but Abbot and Mike are picking things up super-quickly. And Mike is a great teacher, so I am learning, even if I have to step away here and there. (Today I had a 1.5 hour work teleconference.) I have no more work scheduled for the rest of our time here, so I am excited to be FREE to learn. Thanks to all for your support and prayers. We will keep you updated!