Michelle and Hayden: One Year Later

It's hard to believe that I have been partnered with Hayden as my assistance dog since September of last year. 

I had the pleasure of meeting the new clients who have participated in the Team Training these past two weeks, receiving their own assistance dogs. They all seem to be very committed and loving people. I think their dogs will be very happy and will be able to provide the assistance and companionship their partners are hoping for.

As I spoke with them and looked in their eyes, I remembered how elated I was as I looked forward to the training I would receive, but more importantly, the gift of Hayden. I literally was on a "high" for the two months before the training.

After receiving Hayden, I was in what I would call, a honeymoon.  By that I mean that I was totally in love with this new being and was so proud of him. His behavior was incredible and my attention to training, grooming and general care of him was impeccable. I followed a very tight schedule as far as providing all of these elements in my every day routine.

Here I am, a year later. Some of these things are still current. I love Hayden immensely. His companionship and assistance are a great help to me. The changes are that I became more lax in my training and working with him everyday, as well as the daily grooming. I brush him, but it may be every three days. I also haven't kept up with the "Nothing in Life is Free" philosophy encouraged by the trainers. 

Due to these oversights (and laziness) on my part, Hayden has developed behaviors that are not good for public access. There's nothing so big that I can't take him out, but he definitely isn't able to follow all of the guidelines set by the trainers. 

Some of the behaviors include: when we are in restaurants, sometimes he crawl a little to get to a food morsel on the floor, a no-no that has developed. When he is in his vest, rather than in his harness, he gets too far in front of me, sometimes even pulling on the leash. I can handle this sometimes, but other times I have fallen which can cause injury. Basically, these are unacceptable behaviors, although for other dog owners, they may be "no big deal".

Hayden responds very well to instruction and guidance, using the positive training and reinforcement techniques that we were taught in team training. The biggest problem I face now, is that it takes a while to come back from the negative behavior, as he was rewarded by my laxness and the rewards he got. Hayden and I will be getting together with our trainer, Wendy, for some guidance. I'd like to say it's for him, but it's really a refresher course for me. 

Consistency is important and it really does help your assistance dog. Prevention is the key. The really good news is that these dogs love the practice and attention they get. I love giving these to him and myself, I just need to prioritize it like I did in the beginning, rather than taking the exceptional behavior he can exhibit, for granted.

Michelle

Notes from a Volunteer Puppy Raiser - Maya and the Attack Dog

Video: Maya and Chloe Playing

I took this movie of our puppies playing together because they are so much fun to watch. But as I watched it several times, I started to understand the interaction between the two of them. The noise is all from the puppy, Chloe 6 mos. Maya, 18 mos. is quietly and happily tolerating it all. Watch how Chloe repeatedly goes after her and Maya puts her in her place.

Donna

Assistance Dogs get to take vacations too!

This log is from Morgan, who is on a real doggie vacation for a week: no work! Just a cool, mellow "mom" and better yet, two dogs to play with, my favorite breeds: golden retriever and a yellow lab. It was not hard to jump in the car and say bye to Alice and Wayne. I was excited about going in the car with two canines and one new human. This mom knows all about service dogs, and she knows the word "cookie" too. I checked that part out right away.

My person, Alice was a bit nervous about handing me over to her friend, even though I heard her say she has the utmost confidence in this human's ability to take care of me.

I think Alice will miss me. I will be happy to just lie around in the heat, and eat on my regular schedule. And explore her acres of land out in the country.

Alice was rushing around like a crazy woman today. So was Wayne, both of them getting ready for a trip back East to Alice's niece's wedding. They have been talking Wedding for some time, as Reverend Lee is officiating. (I know big poly- syllabic words cause I listen and my job used to be to go to college every day with Alice. One picks up things that way.) And they thought I was sleeping under the desk!

Back to my vacation-time. Alice packed my green back pack with lots of stuff, so I will remember who she is. She packed one of my favorite stuffed animals, my "Puppy", a tee shirt so I will remember her smell, my fleece blanket so I know where to go to bed, and a four page list of "Morgan's Do's and Don't's". She added new phone numbers, and new information about my thyroid medicine. She packed my favorite round red corduroy bed, and most important of all, food!

I know Alice and Wayne are flying on an airplane, and that is one of my jobs. I like flying. Everybody makes such as fuss about a good-looking dog going on a plane.

I know Alice and Wayne are going to my favorite place: Washington state in a couple of weeks. Would you believe they are going to another wedding? I get to go on this trip. I will see all my friends, both two and four legged, and probably swim in the ocean! Running on a beach, chasing waves is one of my all time favorite activities. I am glad my person lets me have fun, as well as work for her.

I must admit, life is pretty darn good being a service dog to Alice. We are a good team!

Ciao, or chow,
Morgan

Jenna and Crystal - Part 2

After team training, I was very nervous when going out with Crystal. There was a while where I wasn’t sure if it would always be so stressful, but I soon settled in and Crystal and I became more comfortable with each other. My job at the time was talking to kids about disability, so Crystal not only helped me do everyday activities but she helped me teach kids. I could now teach them more, about how to act around a service dog.

So what exactly does Crystal do? Well, she picks things up off the floor, she can open and close doors, cabinets, etc, she can turn on and off lights, and she loves to carry things. She gets so proud when she picks something up or carries something. Her body sways and she likes to show off: “Look what I can do!” She can give someone behind a counter a credit card by taking my card in her mouth, jumping “up” – putting her front legs on the counter – and giving the card to the person. Most people love to see her do this, and she loves it too.

People always ask me if she ever gets to play. My response? Of course, she’s still a dog (actually, some of my friends and I call our service dogs furry toddlers). She goes for walks, gets to lie around when I’m home, and gets to play. She has her days where she doesn’t want to listen, she has her days when she looks at me as if saying, “um, no”.

We’re going on our first plane trip together next month, a cross county trip that includes changing planes and both of our first times on a commuter plane. It’ll be an adventure, that’s for sure.

Jenna

Jenna and Crystal - Part 1

I had wanted a service dog long before I knew of Summit, even long before they began. The problems of getting a service dog then were multiple, but the two biggest were the long waiting list and the fact that they were in California and I was here in Washington. I found Summit on the internet about four or five years ago and everything seemed to work; the wait wasn’t as long as other organizations, I could devote the time and energy, and, best of all, they were only three hours drive from where I lived.

When I finally was paired and knew I’d be going to team training, I made sure I studied everything I was given and read the book that, while I wasn’t sure if it was mandatory, I finished before training began. I was in my late twenties and had wanted a service dog for over a decade – this was serious business to me. There are so many people that need and deserve service dogs and so for me to finally be paired with one, I wanted the people at Summit to know I knew what I was getting and that I appreciated it. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have fun; I did. But the fun was an added benefit to what I was doing there, what I was working for.

I’ve had dogs as pets my whole life, so I already knew a fair amount about taking care of a dog, some of their reactions to situations, etc. What I added to that was the knowledge of how to work with my service dog, whose name is Crystal. I was paired with Crystal after a few evaluation sessions where you work with the dogs ready to be paired and after, you fill out a form saying which you preferred. Other factors in pairing are personality, lifestyle, and the size of the dog.

Jenna

Out and About

This year we have had our 'South Sound Summit Booth' set up at various events.  The first was the Mother's Day Best of the Northwest Art and Craft show in Magnuson Park.  Peggy, Scottie and I and our pups manned the booth and got a good response.  Next we did the King Co. Adoptathon, the Pierce Co. Dogathon, and the Bellevue Festival of the Arts Festival.  People are delighted to hear about the work we are doing with the Summit dogs.  We hang a sign around the dogs necks, "Hugs & Kisses - $1." which gets a great response.  I found one young woman kneeling with the dogs arms on her shoulders, and into a big schmooze.  "Hey! That's really going to cost you!" I said, and she laughed and stuffed some money into the donation jar. It's a lot of fun, but more importantly, it's getting the word out about Summit so we can gain greater support in the community.

Donna

Notes from a Volunteer Puppy Raiser - Maya at the beach

Last Tuesday, a cloudy day again, but we headed down to the beach anyway.  It's a long walk down a hillside under tall maples on a switchback road.  Maya and her little sister, Chloe, frolicked and sniffed all the way down.  I had thought of practicing recalls on the way down, but it was useless.  The pull of the wild was too strong.  When we got to the beach, the neighbor dog, a female black lab, joined us.  Our grandsons from Calif. threw sticks for the pups to fetch and we all enjoyed the cool, fresh air.  After disturbing a fisherman who wasn't catching anything, we proceeded along the beach, finding jellyfish, starfish and other tasty oddments. Maya has never been in swimming, but today wasn't the right day as I will have to go in the water first and coax her in.  I'll take a warm, fresh water lake, please!

After the dogs all had a good run, we headed back up the hill, this time practicing our loose leash walking, as the dogs were tired enough to cooperate. By the time we were back at the car, they were dry enough and we all went happily home.

Donna

Experiences after team training

Since team training ended, Apollo and I have done a few events for Summit by sitting at their booth. At our first event we got the opportunity to meet a bird that a lady was walking around with. I was a little nervous about how Apollo would react, but he did really well.

Apollo also likes going to the dog park where he is friends with absolutely every dog around!!

I don’t really have any great mushy stories to tell so far, but I was in Costco today and standing in line to check out. A gentleman in the next line over asked if he could ask me a question. He said that he knew about seeing eye dogs for the blind, but didn’t really understand what he was seeing with Apollo and I. I explained to him all the things that Apollo can do to help me, and he was amazed. They guy was sincerely interested in hearing about Apollo and I, and it felt good to introduce someone to the world of service dogs.

Peggy

Things I remember from the final day of team training

First thing in the morning, Apollo and I had our working test. The trainers gave me different scenarios that they wanted me to complete with Apollo and then it was up to us to make it happen. For example, walk up to a desk, have the dog go under the desk and lie down, drop something, have the dog pick it up and give it to you. You got 2 pts for each command that you should have used as long as the dog did what you asked with you asking no more than twice. After that it was only 1 pt or no pts if they never did it or you didn't use a command you should have. You could always use extra commands if they were helpful to you and you used them properly. Apollo and I got 77 out f 80 pts.

After that we had to go to the grocery store and do the same kinds of things but amongst the distractions of the food and people. That was either a pass or fail thing...we passed!!

Finally, we were sent on a walking trip around downtown Anacortes with specific things to accomplish. First we had to go to the Visitor's Center and get some brochures. I had to drop one and have Apollo pick it up and give it to me. Then we had to go into a public restroom and have him go in under the sink and lie down. After that we walked to the office supply store and bought a card. I didn't have to, but I had Apollo try to give the 3 dollar bills to the clerk. He did pretty good, but one of them didn't make it. He did successfully retrieve the receipt and give it to me, as well as, the bag with the card.

Then we walked over to the commerce building and had Apollo pull open the door so that we could go in and then push the button so that we could get out. Finally, we went to the post office and bought a book of stamps. Apollo opened the doors and retrieved the receipt. Then we returned to the trainer and got our evaluation and official passing grade for team training. When we left there, we went and practiced getting on and off a bus. We are going back tomorrow to practice that some more since we are staying through the weekend.

Things I remember from team training - week 2

During week 2 of training we had some practice sessions in the mornings and then we went on field trips in the afternoons.

On one of the field trips we walked around a little town called La Conner. We went into a little store called Good Kitty Bad Kitty, but they had doggie stuff too. Wendy was having way too much fun dressing up Apollo.

While walking around town we went to the bank and the post office where Apollo retrieved receipts and opened doors.

I also got to meet Apollo's puppy raiser, Lisa this week.

Peggy

Things I remember from team training - week 1

I started team training with my assistance dog, Apollo, in March of this year with my classmate Maggie who got Apollo's sister Alki. Week 1 of team training was a challenge to us all in more ways than one. Maggie’s disease often leaves her exhausted so the long days of training took a lot out of her. Her husband, Gary, had to go to the emergency room twice because he wasn’t feeling well. My husband, Eric, in the emergency room and admitted to the hospital with complications from his diabetes. Since Eric is my caregiver, the social worker at the hospital helped us to arrange for home health care to come to the hotel to help take care of me so that I could stay and continue training. It was one heck of a week for all of us personally, not to mention, the class lectures and practice sessions…but hey both Maggie and I passed our final written exam!!!! Week 2 promised field trips, the working test, and final certification next week.

In the middle of week 1, we were allowed to take our dogs “home” (back to the hotel for me) with us. All in all I think that Apollo and I did well in week 1 of training. He was still distracted when his trainer, Wendy, was within his sight but that was to be expected. It would take time to transfer that bond from the trainer over to me.

When I'm lying in the bed resting, I have a table beside the bed that I put my laptop on to surf the net or answer emails. The first night I brought Apollo to the hotel and called him up on the bed to lay with me so that I could pet him, he jumped over the table, over me, and on to the other side of the bed!! It really was quite amusing!!

 

One day we were practicing the "Up" command in training where he should put his two front paws up on a counter, or desk, or whatever I am indicating in front of him. Well Apollo just had to show off that two feet wasn't enough and jumped completely on the table. Of course, this didn't go over well with the trainer who promptly picked him up (all 61 lbs. of him) and put him back on the floor to try again. After doing this twice, he finally got the message that four feet was unacceptable with that command. If I want him to get on something like the bed I use the "Jump On" command.

We also practiced the "Leave It" command where he should not go after something that I tell him to leave alone. I have to say how impressed I was when we put both the dogs on a down stay and the two trainers tried to distract them while playing with a ball to see if they would get up. Alki got up a few times and Apollo got up once. We promptly put them back to a down stay and they actually stayed!! Now the really amazing thing was when the trainers next tried to distract them by placing treats on the floor all around them and then even putting treats right on their paws and they did not eat it or go for it when we told them to leave it. I was so proud!!!

Peggy

Notes from a volunteer puppy raiser: Maya

Maya is 17 months old now.  At 18 months of age the dogs usually move to Anacortes to live with the professional trainers for their advanced work.  They will meet with a group of prospective partners and choose and be chosen.  Summit will find out what the prospective new partner needs for help from her dog, and train the dog accordingly. This sounds like a good plan.

So now, imagine that you have been living for the past 15 months with the very best, most wonderful dog you have ever had in your life.  That's saying a lot because I've had quite a few dogs in my life. None of them come near her for personality, willingness to learn, to work, to cuddle, and of course, to play at everything.  She is a great agility dog - really fast, a great therapy dog - sweet and gentle with children. But it's time for her to go.  How will I manage to say goodbye to her?

I was in my pottery workshop today thinking about all this. People often say to me, "I don't know how you give them up"  or "Isn't it hard to give them up" and I say something silly like, "Well, you know from the beginning that it's not your dog and you don't get to keep it, so you just do it."

I've found that if I can feel a little angry, I can keep myself from crying about all of this. I was in the workshop imagining her leaving as tears were dripping down my nose and onto the clay fish that I was cutting out.  I tried out several sentences to say to people in my angry voice, like, "This topic is OFF LIMITS!" or "We're NOT talking about this, so just STOP!" It didn't work out very well, and I dripped away. Maybe writing this blog will be therapeutic and will help me get it out. But I have to tell you that giving up a dog that you love as much as I love Maya is just awful, crappy and horrible. AND I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!  So don't tell me you've read my blog and how you felt so sad, or how can I do it, or anything like that because THAT TOPIC IS OFF LIMITS!  You can send me an email if you want and I'll read it in private, but I don't want to be a public drip-face.

I'm glad I know Peggy and Michelle who are partnered with Summit dogs, because it makes it a little easier to see them working with their dogs and know that that's what it is all about. I've got about 5 weeks or so left with Maya, so excuse me while I get another cuddle with the world's best dog.

Notes from a volunteer puppy raiser: Eddie the forager

Eddie was always a good eater, never fussy.  One spring day he discovered that there was good food to be had in our yard.  I caught him with his head poked under the 'bird' netting over the strawberry bed, eating away.  He visited it regularly. Soon the snow peas were ready and he would stand by the rows eating. Next came the blackberries.  He stood in the driveway with his head poked into the bushes.  He stood there a long time. His final endeavor was the plums that had fallen off the tree.  He ate them, seeds and all.  This did not work out very well, or perhaps too well, as they were prune plums.  Need I say more?  I had to start raking under the tree and put an end to his free lunch.

Donna

The advantage of a miniature horse for assistance

My sister asks "What would be the advantage to having a miniature horse as compared to a dog for assistance". This is a question many people have asked.

If a miniature horse can be successfully trained to perform the same tasks as a dog the biggest advantage will be the longevity of the horse. Horses live an average of 30 years versus the dog who lives an average of 10 years. It is very costly to train an assistance animal and so an animal that lives 3 times as long would cut the costs down considerably. Our clients also become very bonded to their animals and go through considerable grief when their dog passes away so an animal that lives 3 times as long is desirable for this reason as well.

The other big issue is that we deal with a lot of instinctive behavior in a dog that is counterproductive to assistance work. We release a tremendous number of dogs from our program for reactive barking, chasing small animals, and aggression with other dogs. None of these are an issue for horses. While horses do have a stronger natural flight instinct and can spook easily there are many, many horses that are very stable working in environments where one wouldn't think a horse would do well (i.e. Police and carriage horses in big cities deal with a lot of stress). With dogs we still end up releasing a number of them that are skittish as well so its not like they are immune from this trait.

We have had great struggles trying to find dogs for some of our people who are ambulatory and want a dog to help them balance while walking. The dog has to be very large in order to bear some weight and yet has to be extremely calm and not prone to chasing an animal that crosses its path so as to assure it won't pull its handler off their feet. We have found few such dogs. People  have to wait years if they want one because there are so few dogs that meet the requirements for size and temperament. This is why our client who has had 2 service dogs and has been waiting for 3 years with us, started investigating some alternatives.

That said, a horse will not be a practical animal for many people. Dogs are just more portable and curl up into smaller spaces. They are of course also much more common. It will be hard for someone to go anywhere with a horse without constantly being questioned by people. But for those people who think the advantages may outweigh the disadvantages I think it is worth experimenting with. There is a successful guide horse working name Panda. You can view a video of one of her training sessions on YouTube below

What I hear is that she is a superior guide animal to any of the 3 dogs that the handler has had but she isn't quite as practical. I can see where a horse would be a far superior guide animal. Danny naturally is so aware of his footing and takes me around the potholes in the driveway and stops at any surface changes to investigate. Dogs tend to plunder through everything and are also far more distracted by their surroundings, another thing that makes them more difficult to train for any kind of assistance work.

So, those are the reasons for experimenting with a horse. The big question for me is still one of practicality. It is definitely "odd" having a little horse in your house but then again at one time it was odd to have a dog in your house. One thing I know is that its a heck of a lot quieter having horses. One little nicker when I come to the barn in the morning versus a cacophony of barking dogs.

Sue