Getting A Service Dog.

[Teasel]

She sounds perfect ?

 

[Friday]

I am over the moon for you, in all ways. ♥

 

[blackemerald1]

Thanks @Friday - and thanks to everyone who has been supporting me. It's so lovely to know you're all out there and I can come here and tell you how we're going.

I think we're off to a ok start. The dog isn't sick so that's a big bonus. Yikes.

Another couple of days of 'intensive' training and then we are on our own. I'm exhausted and so is K. But she is working well and she's beginning to relax around me & my home, or maybe facing the reality of having to live with me and here and in the pragmatic way that dogs have, making the best of it?

Anyway she's wagging her tail and playing with my toes now. I just never knew they were so alluring? :hilarious: Basically, she's beginning to let her personality out which is good & a relief.

The trainer, D., reckons next week she'll have completely recovered from the journey and everything and then she'll be a 'very naughty girl' lol That's going to be interesting indeed ?? So apparently I just have to stand fast against the line and not let any bad habits develop.

D. also emphasized the dog is here to make my life easier. ie she's a working dog. So I've got to tell her what to do, not ask.. lol.. That's difficult because I've always found asking nicely works, well as a starter... Perhaps not so much for dogs? I've got to be assertive & positive and lots of those words. He also said I've got to stop being so nice to her, but that doesn't mean being cruel either. :confused:

Everyone who sees her melts and you know what?? She knows it too. lol.. Such reservedness, goes with her beauty.

Got hammered today, about the media thing. This time in front of a whole lot of people I'd rather not have discussed it the issue in front of. I don't think that was a coincidence btw. All eyes turned to me when the proposition was made. I never fail to disappoint. I told them K. could be the star of whatever promotion they had in mind but no publicity for me. I pissed off about eight people in only five seconds... for me that's a fair few these days.

 

[blackemerald1]

So little K has got a sassy personality underneath that reserved veneer. lol

Evidence:-

This afternoon I was sitting outside with her, staring into space, trying to think and she was snuffling around at clods, sods & tufts of dry grass. It was oppressively hot and humid so moving wasn't on my list of things to do right then. Actually, nothing was moving except for K.

Suddenly she did this scaredy cat, straight leg dance on the spot and then hello the mad dog arrived.

She took off around the yard (1/4 acre) about five times at breakneck speed, hurdling logs, zig zagging around my fruit trees, old pots and mounds of sawdust, jumping & throwing her back legs up, literally springing and sprinting to the rear fence and rebounding just as quickly. Man can she run. Ears pinned back & flapping, tongue lolling. omg so funny

I thought she might have been bitten by a bee? lol

Then she comes to a screeching halt at my feet, wagging her tail as fast as a chopper rotor blade...and said, HELLO!

Then she did the jump to the left, jump to the right and off doing the routine again. I was falling off my chair laughing. I'm not sure my trainer has seen this little muppet do this. :hilarious:

Amazing :)

Also this afternoon I started teaching her fetch. Any of you dog handlers know the process for fetch? I want to play hide-n-seek too, anyone know how to teach her that?

 

[Sideways]

Haha, zoomies! Impossible not to crack a smile!

I've only ever taught my dogs fetch the old school way - chuck a ball or stick, depending on which the dog seems to prefer (current dog prefers his soft toys - he won't pick up balls and sticks are strictly for pulling apart!) and then telling them to bring it back. Which they seem to figure out!

K might already have a command for Give?

There is almost certainly a more scientific way of teaching them. But they do seem to get it reasonably quickly!

I love K. I love that she's made you smile:)

 

[Freida]

There is nothing funnier that a pup with the zoomies! I'm so glad she is making you laugh - some of the best medicine you can get :)

 

[Sideways]

Out walking doggo this morning and working on training him "Go home" at the moment - thought of you and K, and your question about fetch and hide n seek.

With a beagle, you have a dog that, even by dog standards, has an amazing nose. Like, is able to understand the world in a way we simply cannot comprehend, and get information about objects and people, simply by smelling them.

That's something you might want to play up for her in games. A basic nose work game I like is treasure hunt. Doggo sits and stays, and I let him sniff the treats he has to find, then I go and hide them all around the lounge (with a beagle, the game will quickly advance to all around the house). Just tiny little pieces. Then when I give him the release command, he gets to sniff em all out. He loves it.

Super simple to train, because sit, stay and release are already in K's vocab. The first time it helps if they can see you hiding the treats, so they know roughly what you've done with them to get an idea of what the game is about.

For a beagle I'd probably also be considering a ball pit, or a sand pit (in those half shell kids pools) in the backyard that K is allowed to play in, dig in, or play a harder version of treasure hunt in.

Nose work games like that are super fun. Making a snuffle mat is also great for nosework fun, even for feeding dinner occasionally (hiding the kibble in the mat).

There's a FB group called Canine Enrichment. I'm not one to recommend FB, but it's worth knocking up a profile and following just that one group. People send in ideas all from all around the world for ways to keep doggo's life interesting, build the relationship between you and doggo, keep on top of boredom, confidence and anxiety issues, and utilise those parts of the dog's brain that keep them super alert into their older years.

So much fun to be had. I recommend canine enrichment games to everyone that comes through my class now:)

 

[siniang]

Any of you dog handlers know the process for fetch?

I've only ever taught my dogs fetch the old school way - chuck a ball or stick, depending on which the dog seems to prefer (current dog prefers his soft toys - he won't pick up balls and sticks are strictly for pulling apart!) and then telling them to bring it back. Which they seem to figure out!

Please don’t use sticks! Too many stories of impaled dogs. (It’s a serious threat). Make sure ball is big enough for doggo so no risk of choking.

I personally love kongs and bumpers for playing fetch.

Also, not sure if there’s actually a way to “teach” them fetch. Some dogs just have more retrieving instinct than others and that’s totally fine. I’m not tooooo familiar with beagles. If she shows inclination to retrieve, work on some kind of “give” command. Also small steps. Every time she runs after something you threw, when she picks it up, when she turns back to look at you, when she starts walking towards you, when she gets back to you... praise praise praise.

As Sideways has said, they’re usually fast in figuring it out.

Hide n seek is awesome for beagles!

Those are friggin smart dogs. They need something for their energy (besides zoomies), but they also need highly mentally stimulating play.

Nose work! Snuffle blanket! Absolutely!!!

And agreed with Sideways, give her something where she’s officially allowed to dig dig dig... it’ll save your sanity and yard in the long run

Look into clicker training. Short sessions but highly stimulating - you can teach her tricks!

I recommend canine enrichment games to everyone that comes through my class now:)

Me too :) I make a big deal out of mentioning it to our folks once they’ve solidified the basic obedience part. It’s sooooo friggin important. Keeping dogs enriched is more than having them have a run at the dog park

Checking out that FB group now

 

[blackemerald1]

I've started getting her obsessed with a length of rope tied together. She's a bit like a cat in that if you flop it about she wants to pounce on it and 'kill' it. lol.. So, she's sort of retrieving and yeah I'm praising her up for bringing it back. I will definitely start teaching her 'give' too. I've become a ytube student but I will look up my local obedience dog club and join asap.

Yesterday was a big day.. mostly out of the house going to lots of shops, getting stared at huh? smile blackemerald1 a smile!!

In and out of the car a dozen times. Harness on, of, on, of... then home again. I was so tired.. sigh... when I went to bed, she decided she had a lot to say?

 

[blackemerald1]

I decided to ask my friend J over for dinner. I've only got one friend in this location. Everyone else lives a long way away.

J's ok in small doses.

J has a very small & elderly dog, called S. And J insists on carrying S. around as per the Paris Hilton style? Babying her and treating her like a human baby child?

J only brings her to my house as S cannot be left alone but J goes away overseas & to other places here there and everywhere without S. Apparently S can be left alone then.

S has a heart condition so a little bit of exercise wouldn't hurt her at all.. but hell... I thought I was kicking goals convincing J. to take her to the vet and get S. medicated for her heart condition a couple of months ago.

It's my fault, I rang, J accepted my invitation. So I should've known better.

Prior to her arrival, I told J when she arrived to not make a fuss of K and to give the dogs time to greet each other; that K. has a reputation of being friendly towards other dogs (in fact that is a prerequisite for her qualification) so there'd be no threat from K but I wasn't so sure of S. So we should keep both dogs calm whilst they met. J said she understood completely.

So when J arrived with S of course K thought it was hysterical that a human and dog had come to the door.

Whilst I had the security door locked I got K settled in a sit & stay. All good. I opened the door and she maintained her sit and stay. Still very good. Lots of praise and she was very calm and contained.

Then the trouble started.

J stepped over the threshold and insisted on holding S up in the air and waving her about like a flag. I asked J to put S down so the dogs could greet each other and we could move into the house.

But no.. J insisted on behaving as if K was a raging, angry dog and every time they sniffed each other she whisked S up and away and onto my furniture or up in the air.

S reacted as if there actually was something to fear and K became increasingly frustrated at this 'teasing'. I was trying to keep her calm but really it was like trying to calm down an slowly exploding grenade.

J kept asking why K couldn't jump on my furniture too? Because "oh..she's only young, it's not such a big deal... etc" In fact in the first 15 mins I was beleaguered with J's accusatory tone that somehow my expectations were to high of K and she knew better.

J began shouting at me I was too rigid, and shouldn't correct K. And saying in her accusatory way that I was wrong and she was right.
Huh? My home.. my rules...my dog!

Almost... almost nearly told her to get out, go away...

J didn't want K trying to jump up at her whilst she held S up in the air above her head?? She actually told me in an accusatory tone that K should be better trained and why was she jumping in the air at her???

Omg I could've screamed. J. is a lot older than me and obviously really f&&in stupid.

I put on my hat and demanded she stop waving her dog in the air like a treat and put S down on the floor!

I told her in my withering tone that no my dog is never allowed on the furniture except for specific life threatening events. That was and is her training.. ugh...

So then the silence began.

But at least the dogs were playing nicely.

J. who has an extremely irritating voice when she dives into sarcasm, asked if it was ok to pat my dog, look at my dog and insisted I was being too strict with K's behaviour and she's had dogs all of her life.... ad nauseum....

Then more trouble...

J has always fed S bits of her meal from the table in her home. Ugh.. I CANNOT STAND THIS!

On previous visits when she's tried to do this I've told her that it's not proper etiquette and she's refrained from doing it, but reluctantly so. But on these occasions S has then sat about two feet from the table staring us down.

S is not my dog, but again, it's my home and it's my food and it's just not manners - is it?

So, then J started to feed S bits from the table - right in front of K who had decided that S was an old slow dog and not really so interesting. But when J started waving food around.. ugh.. Oh My God!

I got up from my meal and got K under control and asked J why since she has refrained on previous evenings from doing this, so why start now? She said she just wanted to make the dogs more comfortable. Aaaaargh... I felt like this was sabotage.

Later in the evening J told me she googled service dogs and did I know how expensive they were? How did I ever afford her? And other intrusive questions. I don't know...I think I was numb and I just sat there exhausted and stalled. Actually I cannot remember much of the evening at all except for the bad bits and my mediterranean lamb tasted like tin foil - no appetite - but J did eat very well.

Eventually she left.

It was an awful visit. Just awful.

My mother is having a birthday soon. My siblings want me to go do something with her. Unfortunately that will mean meeting a whole lot of people who are who have a history of behaving very badly towards me.

My mother has already made fun of me needing a dog. She's saying things like oh.. it's all so serious. (Sarcasm)

And.. why should you get a dog when there are people dying of cancer who cannot get treatment... ??
Jealousy? Mockery? Humiliation? Bullying?

Plus, Idk but do any of you handlers meet people who want to take charge of your dog and tell you what to do, or more to the point, that they think they are dog trainers and try to do something to your dog without your consent?

How do you cope with family if that family is not considerate of disability?

 

[Sideways]

I don't know J, I could be waaaay off. But people have behaved like that around me and doggo in situations where I'm quite sure it's driven by plain old jealousy.

Little child type tantrum about the kid at school that just came to class with a better set of textas than anyone else has, and everyone else has to either sabotage those markers, or insist they know how to use them better than you do.

Other people aren't always going to understand (and tbh, they don't need to - it isn't their dog, and it isn't their disability). But for you, it is important. So, new boundaries. J just established that it's not okay for them to come back to your place till you've met successfully outside, perhaps briefly, for a coffee, and J has shown a willingness to behave appropriately.

As for family? Clear rules straight up (emailing ahead or texting if conversations end in you being walked over) and I reckon small doses at first. My family only have access to me to the extent that they observe certain rules about my dog (simple: jacket on? He's working, and all the normal rules apply - don't touch, don't feed, don't distract; jacket off and he's like any other pet dog).

Have a reason to need to leave early (make one up if you need to). So you and K turn up, do a quick hello, and leave. There's a degree of novelty right now, and that's unavoidable. But if you're clear about the rules straight up, the novelty will wear off reasonably quickly.

Try not to get exasperated when people do the wrong thing. If someone does the wrong thing, tell them politely what you need from them (eg "It's really important that you don't offer my dog any food"). The second time they do it? You leave. "I'm sorry, my dog is working. We have to go". This disability equipment is too expensive, and too sensitive, to compromise.

All the same rules about boundaries apply: be clear, be consistent, and have consequences. Calm and assertive communication. And when you get too tired to do that? Time to go.

You'll get used to this stuff and find your stride. And it gets easier, because with practice, you'll get quite confident over time at communicating your boundaries clearly. With situations like the one with J, you'll get to the point where you'll be telling them quite early in the piece, "Look, I really need you to..., or you're going to have to leave."

You are allowed to protect K, and the massive amounts that has been invested in getting this far. It is not unreasonable to require people to treat your dog like an AD. Keeping her on the lead, and in her jacket? Is probably the easiest way to make that clear while the novelty factor wears off.

 

[scout86]

I don't have a service dog and can't speak to that part of this. I'd just like to make the observation that some people are idiots and apparently J is one of them. Well done for not having a huge wreck. Remember, ALL this stuff takes practice so the first round of human stupidity is likely to be messier that later rounds.

How do you cope with family if that family is not considerate of disability?

I stay away from them. Seriously! When my mother was alive, there were times I more or less had to deal with her and my brother. My T was a big help with planning tactics out in advance. The big one was to have an exit strategy for EVERYTHING. Like, before I made a visit, I made it clear that I couldn't stay long. If things went well, I could always stay longer. If at all possible, come up with an excuse to stay somewhere else so you can limit contact. It's tough and it's kind of unfair that it has to be that way. Bottom line, in my opinion, you deserve better than to be treated the way you describe your family treating you. Sometimes the best way to handle that is by keeping a safe distance. There really isn't a scenario where you owe them something that makes that behavior ok.