leopardwolf: (Default)
Hope everyone had a bright and Merry Christmas and happy holidays all around.


We enjoyed a nice day with family at the farm. I cooked dinner the night before to take over, since there isn’t a working full size oven at the farm and the kitchen is super tiny.

Turkey with veggie and stuffing casserole concoction of my own creation, home made cranberry sauce, and home made candied yams.





Journey and the cats helped, supervising and cheering me on as I managed to avoid any serious bodily harm in my adventure.


leopardwolf: (Lhunie Floof - Foxfeather)
Wishing everyone a bright Yule and Winter Solstice. Journey is here to share some smiles and cheer.


leopardwolf: (Default)
Today is Journey's birthday! He is 1 year old. Huzzah! To celebrate, he got to pick out some new toys and treats from the store.

He went from being a tiny adorable fuzzball to a giant dork.


Journey as a tiny pup ( 4 weeks old ):






Journey at 1yr old:


SD Rant

Wednesday, November 5th, 2014 08:45 pm
leopardwolf: (Default)
While at a local Petco today with Journey, standing near the checkout I overhear a man registering his puppy for classes. He asks the trainer "how much does it cost to make them a service dog?" nodding toward me and Journey. A few minutes before I had been chatting with the trainer since we have been going by there since Journey was a small pup and he was wondering how his training was going. The trainer awkwardly tries to explain to the man what classes they do offer, but not answering the question directly and seemed like he was in a bind. The guy started to try and question it, so I spoke up.

"You can't just make any dog a service dog. The dog has to be specially trained to help with a disability. You have to have a disability".

The trainer agreed and mentioned a few examples like a mobility issue or diabetes, etc. The man stared at me and Journey for a long moment.

Then his dog is brought out of the back from grooming. A young German Shepherd pup, probably 4 months or so old if even. Beautiful little dog, but a spazz with no leash manners. I just shook my head and sighed.

You can't just call any dog a service dog just because you want to ( whatever excuse you decide to use to try and "justify" it ). You can't just slap a vest on any dog ( GSD or not ) and claim it is a service dog. It's a punishable crime / fraud to do so. You will be fined and face jail time.

On top of that, plenty of people who do have health issues and have legitimate disabilities, do have dogs. But that does NOT make that dog a service dog by default. Thankfully most of those people don't try and falsely claim their pet dogs are service dogs.

Those people who do use real service dogs don't go around cheerfully claiming they have or need a service dog like it is a god damned status quo or "cool thing" just because they want attention. In fact, most of us would rather not be swarmed with the attention we get when we go anywhere with our partners.

It doesn't matter if the dog is well behaved ( or what you interpret as "well behaved" ) at home or in public. If the dog isn't specially task trained to assist the person handling it with mitigating ( mitigate - v ; to make less severe, serious, or painful) their disability, it is NOT a service dog. Period.
leopardwolf: (Lhunie Floof - Foxfeather)
In preparation for our upcoming trip, I started taking the dogs over to the airport to sit and watch and listen to aircraft taking off, so they could get used to all the other sights and smells associated with the airport. Neither one of them were phased by it, even with the giant roaring jets passing by overhead both in the car and out walking around. Next step is to go into the airport to get them used to walking around in potentially more crowded areas. Ember has been in huge crowds before so I figure she'll do fine, and Journey has done fine in crowded stores so he should be okay too. Will see if security will let us "pretend" to stand in line and maybe even go through the machine just so they're used to it, because I am sure their collars will set off the metal detector and would rather have them used to it instead of freaking them out more on travel day.



Thursday evening I went out to run a few errands and took Journey along for some public access practice. Wandered around the store and said hello to some people we know. Got lizard food and watched some fish get bagged. Journey stared in wonder at both bags of little moving creatures. He's fascinated by them.

While wandering down one isle, he got silly and knocked a bag treats onto the ground. I sighed all exaggeratedly and playful and said "Look what you did, making messes" and he glanced down at it with this "whoops" expression.

I pointed at it and said "I can't reach it, you better get that" figuring I'd have to awkwardly bend to get it. To my surprise he lowered his head and picked it up and held it till I took it. "OMG YOU DID IT GOOOOD BOOOY!!!" I exploded in happy praise and he exploded right along with me.

A few minutes later we were on another isle talking to one of the workers as we looked for something, and his tail knocked some sort of flat-rubber-grooming-mat onto the floor. I said to the woman "I'm not sure if he can pick that up, but we'll try". So I asked him to get it for me, and he did!!!! I erupted in praise again and he was so happy and proud of himself and the woman was all grins and thought it was the neatest thing.

Seriously, this is huge. He is starting to pick up even objects that have nothing to do with food and toys, in public!! And a FLAT thing even! Flat stuff is hard! The worker made the comment how cool it was he figured out to slide it up against his paw to pick it up, which is exactly what he did!

==============


Went to the uber eye doctor Friday. It is confirmed that I have extremely dry eyes. She saw it in her scope thing and did a tear production test which also showed it. She asks me if I ever had autoimmune bloodwork done and I just laughed.

I explained the seroneg theory and she immediately said "Oh well then they should do a lip biopsy." Upon which I explained to her I had requested to have one done from the beginning, but everyone is focused on insisting I should have bloodwork despite me mentioning it will come back normal/negative if I am seroneg.

She is going to write to my rheumatologist and my GP with the findings and recommendation. Fingers crossed.

Mall Dog

Monday, August 11th, 2014 11:34 pm
leopardwolf: (Default)
Took Journey to Lakeside Mall today for some public access training. He did amazingly well as always.

We practiced in the elevator and on the stairs for as long as my body would allow. Then he helped me hobble to get a bite to eat and sit for a bit to rest and take meds. While getting condiments, I dropped a straw. One of the workers saw and told me not to worry, she'd get it after. I asked Journey to get it. He sniffed and mouthed at it which I marked and encouraged, he pawed at it, and he flopped beside it and mouthed it more and almost picked it up, but decided it wasn't as exciting as a toy and flopped beside it and put he paw atop it. Some girls were sitting nearby watching and cheering him on for the effort. Better luck next time.

Found a place to sit and eat where he fit without being in the way. Lots of people kept walking by commenting when they saw him. Heard a lot of "wow what a big dog" and "man look at the size of him!" which made me giggle.

One nice gentleman and his son stopped to chat. He was interested about service dogs because he's dealing with spinal damage from when he was injured in a motorcycle accident. I could tell just by how he moved he had a hard time and it hurt him, and he like me just keeps pushing through the day as best he can. I empathize.

Another couple stopped with their son who they explained had brain conditions that caused seizures, some form of epilepsy I believe. He had been curious about seeing Journey and wanted to pet him, which I was okay with because I know how much it helps kids like him. Bright and happy kid who loved to talk. Trying to pay attention to him and the parents at the same time was challenging!

I told both families like I tell others I have met, I'm happy to help however I can. I gave both families a card and contact info. I've shared numerous resources with people I have met since I first started working with Ember years ago, and hope I can continue to do so for years to come with her and Journey to help spread awareness. I know how much it can help to simply be pointed in the right direction, and have someone you can talk to who can relate on that same level.


Journey got really pushy and nudging after they left. I was feeling a little wonky and hadn't taken my meds yet because I stopped in the middle of eating to talk with the people. I think he might be starting to tell me that he senses something isn't quite right. At first I thought he needed to do his business, but when I took him out to a spot he circled, then sat and looked at me to indicate he didn't have to. I took him out twice just to make sure and he didn't have to go.

After I took my meds and they kicked in he wasn't as buggy and pushy and just acted silly a few times to make me laugh instead. Hoping over time I can shape both behaviors differently like I did with Ember. I don't think he's experienced enough yet to give a reliable alert like Ember does, but I think he is learning from watching how she responds to me and by being around me when the changes happen, whatever it is that the dogs sense.

We'll probably be spending quite a bit more time there as we get ready for our upcoming trip.

Orange Objects

Wednesday, August 6th, 2014 11:43 pm
leopardwolf: (Default)
I think Journey has this thing against orange objects. First it was the neighbor's orange-reddish garden hose. Then the traffic cone. Today it was Homer buckets at Home Depot.
leopardwolf: (Default)
Aaiiiieeee tooo excited and beaming not to post this update now. I can cheat a little, because Journey made 8 months old today. We have been working on the basic behavior shaping for him to retrieve objects for me, but he proved he is further along than I thought.

Journey picked up his first item out in public today and handed it back to me when I asked!!

Granted, it was a dog toy, but it's the first time he's done it while we have been out shopping and not home. It wasn't one he was playing with either, it was one I accidentally knocked off the rack!!

It fell and I muttered figuring I'd have to somehow raise it where I could reach the tag, but I decided to ask him first. In the past he has picked stuff up but then tosses, drops, or nudges it and flumps on the ground, causing me or Ember to have to get it anyway.

Today he sprawled next to it and nudged it and I was about to resort to collect it myself, but something told me to try one more time. So I asked again. He grabbed it, stood up, and held it till I took it and told him to give it to me, tail wagging the whole time!

He got a huge jackpot and some weird stares from shoppers trying to figure out why I raised such a commotion.

We also met some nice people today and spoke with them about service dogs.


Here is a picture of Ember and Journey. Journey has a tongue to rival that of Gene Simmons from KISS.


leopardwolf: (Default)
Things have been crazy busy with one thing after another going on here the past two months, so I haven't had a lot of time to sit and write much of anything in detail. Just to make notes here or there of things I wanted to write about.

Training is going real well. This post will include a recap on how Journey did during 6 months of age and during 7 months of age.


6 Months





Journey is too smart for his own good, and he's in the age range of testing boundaries. I imagine it is something like what the "terrible twos and threes" must be like for toddlers combined with independence of teenagers, where in both cases a sort of "selective hearing" develops.

When responding to commands he knows ( sit, down, etc. ) there is a brief delay. It's probably less than 10sec worth, like his brain skipped a beat on processing as he's deciding if he wants to do it or not. It's amusing to me because I have seen it in client's dogs, but with Ember she is so biddable and eager to please, plus she oftentimes tries to anticipate what I want next, she's already doing something before I have the word fully out of mouth, or with my hand signals.

Journey is an intelligent little Alsatian, so I have to mix up training to keep it interesting for him so he doesn't get bored with it. He's highly food motivated, but not as strongly toy motivated at the moment. That could be because I don't tend to keep a lot of toys with squeakers because Ember used to destroy them too fast and the squeaking can drive you nuts. When Journey joined the family, I did purchase various toys that have squeakers to help with training.

At first I wanted to use them for proofing distractions, figuring he'd be enticed by the squeaking. My worry was while working with him in public until he is more solid on everything, I didn't want people thinking it was "funny" to try and purposefully distract him with squeak toys or things making similar noise...... which yes, I have had happen with Ember when she was in working service dog gear, both at pet stores, and at Walmart. People are thoughtless sometimes.

Much to my delight, he isn't too interested simply by hearing the sound, though he will acknowledge it. He isn't overly eager to interact with it unless you get right up to him with it and encourage him to play. We'll see how well that continues as I use various toys with squeakers while trying to encourage certain prey drive qualities.

Another amusement is his lack of traction on most slick surfaces. We have all tile at my aunt's house with only a handful of rugs. Since Journey first started to grow larger, its a challenge for him to keep his legs under him. It turned into a joke with training because getting him into the "down" position was the easiest thing ever, and he tends to prefer it. Which made it easier with some training because he was less likely to break position from a down than he would have from a sit.

He's been so lanky and growing so fast, I think that is partly why his traction is off. So we practice sitting a lot more than he probably likes, trying to get him to that point of not slipping on smooth floors, since most stores have... smooth floors! It's a work in progress.

We have been working with shaping behaviors he'll use for service work since we first started training with the basics. Learning the foundations for fetching objects, holding them, giving them when asked, or taking them from me when I offer, to help build when we move on to objects that are not dog toys or chew things. He's already gotten used to lots of different textures from the beginning, so I don't think it will be too difficult. With his puppy teeth gone I just need to teach him to handle these things with a soft mouth. We have also been working on balance and bracing positions, teaching him how to stand and hold a certain position when I ask and point or make a hand signal.

The final highlight is that he finally lifted his leg! At the end of 5 months he had started to develop his marking bladder and his testicles were dropping, and soon after when he went to do his business instead of the typical full squat, one leg lifted a few inches. He doesn't do it all the time, but he's started doing it more and more frequently.






= = =


7 Months

So many exciting things happened. The first time Journey took the intermittent class in it was a really small class, and both the dogs were small dogs and were over a year old, so he didn't get as much in the sense of socialization as I was hoping for. They let us retake the class, and we did so with a different trainer. By waiting a little longer we got lucky with a much larger class full of various sized dogs with various temperaments, including one that ended up being fear-reactive. It made things very interesting! And it was an amazing learning experience for Journey.

In the previous class the weeks prior, he'd been more inclined to be a puppy and would get excited and playful on leash, and if a strange dog barked and pulled toward him, he'd attempt to do the same, which is normal. Thankfully I could get him to refocus on me and with a lot of "leave it" work, he grew out of that phase.

We got more practice in with the new class, him learning to ignore the distractions of the other dogs pulling at leash, sniffing at him while I asked him to focus on me and ignore them, and ignoring the barking of one and some reactive outbursts from the other. I was so proud of how well he took to it. After the initial group meetup for the first class being so exciting with strange new people and dogs, by the end of the second class he was doing remarkably well with keeping his attention on me when I asked him to ignore whatever was happening at any given time with the other dogs.

The class trainer tried to demo with him because he was more advanced than the other dogs in class, since he had already taken it, and for the fact I have been training with him since he was a tiny pup, and he wanted to keep his focus on me and at first tried to ignore her. Which is brilliant, because I don't want him to listen to just anyone trying to come up and give him a command unless I give him permission or turn him over to someone else to handle.

My reason for this goes back to the whole problem I have had at points while out working with Ember and Journey both for public access stuff, and people trying to distract them by calling to them, making barking noises at them, and even trying to tell them to "come here" or "sit" and other stuff. Most of the time it is kids or teens who have done it, but I have caught adults in the act as well. What makes it worse is when they try, and the dog ignores them... so they try harder! Really people?

I normally turn and address them and give them a polite but stern talking to about why they shouldn't do that ever again if a dog is working. They could risk getting the dog or handler injured by distracting them, and be liable for it. When they are old enough to know better, most of them are embarrassed and apologize. I'd rather educate them than yell at them, but some people really try ever last ounce of patience I have on a given day.

We practiced more with distance and duration. He's pretty solid with it at home, and is getting better about it in public. We have been working on heel work from the base form you learn when you first take the class. He still gets ahead of himself at points but does well on loose leash for the most part without pulling. It's like with most dogs, they move faster than we do and he gets impatient and walks a little faster. So I simply stop or turn about and reposition him before continuing. I am hoping to start building on skills for much more advanced heeling techniques.
leopardwolf: (Default)


Journey and Ember napping.


With all the bad stuff that happened last month, haven't had a chance to really sit and recap on Journey's progress during the month of May until now. He made 5 months old May 4th. He'll be 6 months old tomorrow.

This one will be a little short, as I am going to do a more detailed update within the next week or two for the 6th month old mark.

In May Journey went to a dog park for the first time and did amazingly well. His leash-less long distance recall was flawless ( which makes me SO HAPPY I cannot describe the happy ) coming back to me every time I called him back, even when there were more interesting things ( running dogs, running kids, and even a mild scuffle that broke out when some dogs got to rough across the park).

We also took an intermediate education class, which he passed and graduated from in the middle of the month.

Journey has also shed all of his puppy teeth! They started appearing and I started collecting them. I'll have to do a count to see how many I have, but I did manage to get both eye teeth! Puppy teeeeeeeef arremmmgawds. I may have missed a few, but I got most of them.

He worked on down / stays and sit /stays with distance and duration and before I had totally proofed it, I had to run out of the room in a rush at one point and gave him a down /stay command and figured he'd be following right after me as soon as I left the room and was gone for more than a minute. BUT HE STAYED!!! Oh my gods when I went back in he was laying there waiting and he got soooooooo much praise I think he exploded.

Those are the main highlights I can think of. Will discuss more in the next update.
leopardwolf: (Default)
Time flies. Journey is growing like a weed. He is almost as big as Ember now, in height and weight. His training is progressing very nicely. He's getting tons of exposure to new things, and new creatures. He's seen birds, reptiles, fish in display tanks, guinea pigs, mice and rats, and ferrets. He politely watches the cats at the adoption areas. He has also had a chance to meet a few pet rabbits at a distance, and a pet piglet!

Journey's ID tag mysteriously vanished into thin air the other day, so we had to stop by the store to get another. I took him and Ember both so he could practice politely walking beside her when needed. He's getting a lot better about it, but still has puppy tendency to want to play, which is normal. It was funny because Ember was doing her "side work" position even though she wasn't in her gear or being asked to work, and Journey tried to get her to play and she told him off with a corrective bark because she was trying to work. Serious dog is serious, hehe. Clever girl.

Ember came home mainly to go with me to the hospital recently, and she did her job well as always. I took her back to the farm for more R&R while I do more focus training with Journey. He's been doing very well with his outings. Got his last round of puppy shots. Had another round of braving Walmart and Home Depot, all of which went very well and was met with polite curiosity.

I have met more people who acknowledge and understand that Journey is a working dog ( even one in training ) in the handful of times I have taken him to non-pet store locations, than in all the trips Ember and I have gone on together since we moved back down South. Which makes me so curious why people don't recognize the same thing of Ember when she has a professional work vest proclaiming she is a service dog. Is it some kind of mental thing because she is a black dog? You'd think the red service vest shows better on her. Maybe it's a breed thing? Maybe most people just recognize an Alsatian as a working breed, and just assume since Journey's in a place dogs normally aren't allowed, he's training/working. It just baffles me why so many people don't make the same connection when Ember is working.

While in Walmart I paused to let Journey choose between two bags of treats, to which he sprawled and grumbled at, and I asked "which one?" and he sniffed between the two, but indicated both by nudging. So I asked him again, and he did it again, and I laughed and told him he had to choose, and moved them further apart and he grumbled and sighed at me. I asked again, and I heard a laugh. I glanced up and realized a woman had stopped at the endcap of the isle and been watching the whole time and was grinning from ear to ear. Sure Journey wanted both! I asked again and added "only one" ( not that he's actually learned that clearly yet ), and he looked up at me and he did that brow furrowing thing and tilted his head as if thinking it over. I asked again and offered both bags, and he finally picked one. The woman laughed and said it was the cutest thing she'd seen.

We finally managed to get into a training class with multiple dogs around Journey's age and size, who have had varying amounts of basic training as he has. Had our first class this past Thursday. Until now we have mostly just been lurking in pet stores multiple times a week, greeting friendly dogs, avoiding only the severely non-socialized ones. He's also met tons of new people, and seen all sorts of different clothing and contraptions. He's fascinated by upright dust pans and brooms for some reason. He finally got to see someone using an electric chair/cart at the grocery store. I need to practice with him around one sometime, and manual wheelchair and crutches too.

Journey's met different people in different work attire, various hats, aprons and shoes. We stopped to get food at Chic-Fil-A and everyone loved him. He ignored cleaning being done and when one of the workers offered to get me a refill. He politely greeted a plethora of random people both when we first arrived, and before we left. He kept his focus on me while I chatted with curious people about his training, and he was good about not greeting anyone till I told him it was okay. He even ignored a little boy who came and stood right by him. The little boy politely asked me if he could pet Journey before even trying to ( after watching other people pet him ) so of course I said yes since both of them did the right thing! I thanked the boy so he knew he did good, and he was all huge smiles and thanked me and Journey.

We went to Starbucks and a barista who had helped me previously when I stopped by with Ember happily said hello, and then "you have a different dog tonight!" when she saw Journey. It was his first time there so I introduced him and everyone thought he was adorable. One guy who works there ( I think he's a manager type ) laughed when he saw Journey's ears were so big, and asked if he was part rabbit. I joked maybe eventually he'd grow into them, and he leaned over the counter for a better look and exclaimed "oh man, those paws are huuuge!". We get a lot of surprise at how big he'll probably be, and it is never any less amusing. Journey saw his first tablet PC while there as some ladies played a game, and he watched them curiously. They found it amusing. We have been several times and so far he's doing amazingly well, no reactions to the blenders or loud things they use.

He's had random people come up wanting to pet him before asking, but normally just looks toward them and wags. He may move slightly toward them, but otherwise he will normally ignore people and lay quietly next to me unless I tell him he can say hello. He's even ignored the temptation of people thinking it was "cute" to call to him and make noises to get his attention, or encourage their kids to do the same. The times he has gotten distracted, I have been able to regain his attention before puppy tendency kicks in.

He has his moments. He's just a puppy and still learning, and most folks realize that. Many people have been impressed he is doing so well and so focused for such a young pup. He's developing quite a personality, getting to the age where he becomes more curious and independent. Upcoming training should be interesting, working with distractions, duration, and distance. We'll also be building on foundation heel skills and working toward more advanced heel work. Looking forward to it!
leopardwolf: (Default)



Sooooo extremely proud of Journey! Since he's been doing so well in pet stores, I decided to step things up a notch. Had to run a few errands yesterday, and took him along to see how he did. Figured if it was too much, I could take him home and come back later.

He's finally big enough to fit into Ember's old makeshift training harness backpack. He recognizes that keys and my parking tag mean I am going somewhere, and after watching Ember wear her work harness, and getting to go places in his normal harness, he was thrilled when I put this new contraption on him. After a few adjustments and a moment for him to get used to having it on, off we went.

First stop was Home Depot. I figured there would be enough people, weird sights, smells, and noises, to see how he would react to larger crowds and a larger store vastly different from a pet store. He's been doing well with walking next to shopping carts, and this time I started teaching him how to navigate areas with less space, and to be mindful that the backpack harness stuck out an extra inch or so. He bumped into things a few times before he figured out how far he had to be away from objects. He got a bit excited when someone approaching from ahead of us made eye contact and grinned at him and started doing the typical "baby talk voice". I refocused Journey's attention and he went back to all business work mode prancing happily at my side gazing up at me for approval. The cashiers commented on how good he was and thought it was neat to see him training.

Next stop, Walmart. I wasn't sure how well things would go, because that time of afternoon things were getting busy. I figured if he seemed stressed at any point over all the people and new environment, we'd turn around and leave. He strode in and wandered around with such confidence, you'd never know it was his first time in a store like that.

Puppies are magnets for more attention than normal. Ember and I have had plenty of people make nice comments when we were out, even back when first training. However, the sheer number of people just in this one trip alone, was surprising. The typical "Aaaawwwww! He's adorable!", and so many compliments on how well he was behaving and how well he listened for such a young pup. Several people thought he was a lot older and were surprised when I told them he just made 15 weeks. Everyone was very polite and none of them tried to talk to him directly or distract him, so the big "DO NOT DISTRACT" sign on his vest paid off!

As we shopped, I would glance up and noticed we had attracted a small following of curious people watching as I gave verbal ques and hand signals in different situations to keep Journey focused and in a working mindset. He was so intently focused on me giving eye contact almost the entire time, I only had to redirect him a handful of times. One couple struck up a conversation after watching and said they were impressed with how well Journey listened and were curious what he was being trained for, so I explained. They commented they had a Shepherd/Rottie mix a little older than Journey and wished they could train her to listen as well as he did. I gave them my card and told them I'd be happy to help if they needed a trainer, and they seemed interested, commenting both their dogs could benefit from it. Hey, the more the merrier!

As we were going to check out, we had a huuuge distraction as a kid ran out in front of us unexpectedly ( he didn't even see us, coming from a blind isle ). Journey perked excitedly and thought about trying to bound after the kid ( he wouldn't have gotten far since he was on leash), but a quick call to him and a "leave it" and he focused on me again instead and got a jackpot of treats for it! The other big distraction came as we were standing in line and a guy was walking by making eye contact with Journey, saying what a beautiful dog he was as he was stepping closer, and asked if he could pet him as he was reaching his hand out in a petting motion. Journey watched but didn't get up from his "down" position, yay! I explained Journey was working so he couldn't at the moment and thanked the guy for asking before trying to.

We waited in line for a small eternity, with a screaming kid and a baby ahead of us, so that was good distraction for Journey. He glanced their way the first few times, then just started ignoring it. He waited patiently with only a few grumbles, which are more him just "talking" than anything. I got a few videos that I'll add to the list of those to process and share.

Overall I'm thrilled with how well our first "extended shopping" adventure went!

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LeopardWolf - Lhunpaurwen - Lhunie

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