Yay!! A TV station in Laredo is going to interview our client, Elizabeth, who was denied entrance into Laredo establishments in person the next time she is down there in 2-3 weeks! He will call me to get supportive information! Thank you for agreeing to talk to the media Elizabeth and Service Dog, the beautiful Zoe!!
Lauren and Decker Update
From our lovely trainer, Cherry:
“Even though gorgeous Decker has passed his Public Access Test, Lauren likes to have follow-up training sessions and advice with new situations that might pop up. Young Lauren called for me to help her for when Lauren goes to Physical Therapy. Although her mother sits with Decker during the sessions, Lauren told me he whines and makes a fuss, and it doesn’t matter that he can clearly see Lauren just feet away. So I went along to their session to see what was happening and to try and help. Immediately I could see the problem. Lauren was handing the leash to her mother and then walking away with the Physical Therapist. What she wasn’t doing was letting Decker know what to do, and assuring Decker that all was fine. So I told her to tell Decker assertively to “Down” and “Stay”, which he did immediately and sat through the entire session without a peep!
Very often things like this really are just simple fixes, and now Lauren knows that when she goes for her Physical Therapy, she must let Decker know exactly what she wants from him.”
This is why it is SO important for clients to follow up with trainers for the life of the dog, as SDE promises in our contract, as does Cherry’s rescue, “In Dog We Trust” – Service Dog training never truly ends!
Meghan and her SDIT, Precious
Our trainer, Taylor, in Austin, is working with Meghan and her SDIT, Precious. Meghan suffers from PTSD, severe anxiety/depression, and fibromyalgia.
Meghan writes:
“Most nights when I sleep, I have severe nightmares and wake up every few hours. The anxiety from the PTSD, nightmares, flashbacks causes severe panic attacks. The anxiety leads to depression which makes leaving the house difficult. At times, the fibromyalgia leaves me exhausted, affecting my ability to stand and my general ability to function or concentrate. I’ll collapse or have to sit down wherever I’m at. My speech can even become slurred. I also am in constant pain. I am disabled and have a part time job but only work 16 hours (4 hours days) due to a doctor recommendation. This at times leaves me with little or no energy. My psychiatrist recommended that a Service Dog might help me with panic attacks, PTSD, and even the depression. Recently even my physician suggested a Service Dog for both my PTSD (panic attacks) and fibromyalgia.
A Service Dog would be a constant companion I could rely on. Helping me realize when the PTSD is causing me to hallucinate and have flashbacks. My companion would help me focus my thoughts in these moments. He would also help me to keep from becoming overwhelmed by my surroundings. A companion will be able to give more of confidence when I step out because he would be able to notify me if I am having a panic attack or starting to disassociate with my surroundings forcing me to focus on him instead of my fear. He would also allow me to exercise and function better outside of the house. Part of my fear is if I become tired or have a fibro spell I will have no help. Most days I will not leave without my boyfriend. A Service Dog could also help for when the fibromyalgia leaves me with no energy and I start to collapse, by giving me someone to lean on physically and emotionally. I have also heard that they can help comfort you when the PTSD causes nightmares and can help with the nightmares. This would be wonderful, as I sleep very little especially at one time. I wake up some nights and am even afraid to go to the bathroom or I lay awake afraid to go to sleep. Having someone there to remind me what is and isn’t real, that will stand by my side will be an immense relief. He would help me function better when I go out and perform daily activities.
What an amazing amount of insight Meghan has about Service Dogs and how they can help!
Taylor writes:
“After a long hiatus from training with this pair, I had a session with Meghan and Precious a couple days ago. We met at a Target. I have to say I am super impressed with the work/training that Meghan has done with Precious. He heels perfect by her side, inside and outside in public.
We worked all the behaviors that are expected from the Public Access Test inside Target. We went by the produce and meat section to work on Precious not lunging towards the smells, he did awesome!
We also worked on “down/stays” and “sit/stays” while Meghan walked away from Precious, while I walked by and while a random stranger walked by as well. Precious held his position every time!
At our second session, I met with Meghan and Precious at Barnes and Noble. She wanted to meet there to work on the elevator. Precious did great the first time we got on the elevator, but then the second time, he got very nervous. So now we have to start from the beginning by desensitizing him to the elevator.
His “down/stays” and “sit/stays” were still very good along with all the basic commands, and Precious stays in heel position very well once Meghan drops the leash by his side. We also spent some time sitting in the cafe, seeing how he settles while people walk by him. He definitely needs more work on not getting up to smell or greet people!
Precious started getting a little whiny halfway through the session, so I gave Meghan some tips on how to watch his threshold and try to get him outside before he starts whining and not allow him to rehearse that behavior.
Overall, it was a great session; Precious just needs more work on the elevator and increasing his threshold of being in public for longer periods of time.”
Charlotte and SDIT Dakota
Oh, what a joyous session once again as Laurie had the honor to train beautiful Charlotte and her SDIT, “Dakota”!!
Laurie writes:
As you might remember, 17 year-old Charlotte suffers from seizures, migraines, and severe Ankylosing Spondilitis (arthritis in back), which she has had since the age of 11. Charlotte has extremely limited mobility in her spine due to AS. Their neurologist is still trying to find a suitable medicine to help control her seizures, increasingly limited eyesight, and severe balance issues.
Charlotte’s twin sister, equally beautiful and brilliant, developed some arthritis a little later in age, and know suffers from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardic Syndrome (POTS). It’s definitely genetic. But Charlotte’s sister’s condition is not as extremely debilitating as Charlotte’s – and it’s so beautiful to watch how much she cares about her sister. She’s a little “jealous” of SDIT “Dakota”, because she wants a Service Dog, too! But she understands that Charlotte’s needs are imminent.
I just spoke with Charlotte’s mother, and poor Charlotte is currently at Methodist Children’s Hospital where they had to try FIVE times to bend her back properly for spinal taps! Can you imagine the pain? They ended up deciding to try it again later using fluoroscopy to try and get the needed fluid. She is scheduled for a two-hour MRI of her spine tomorrow, where she has to lie perfectly still to see if they see any lesions that might indicate MS. They tried doing the MRI today, but after 30 minutes, Charlotte could not stand the pain. So, tomorrow, when they have a special anesthetist on hand, they will sedate her so she can make it through the MRI. I am asking for prayers for dear Charlotte and her mother, who is taking such amazing care of her dear daughter (their father died in an accident a few years ago). PLEASE PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!
Anyway, Thursday, we had a very long session at Walmart, because the family will be travelling to Charlotte’s mother, Amy’s birthplace in England for a few weeks. I wanted to do a quite intensive session. SDIT Dakota will also be boarding at Petsmart, with the play days and all that fun stuff – but Amy was very keen and wrote a letter to Petsmart Boarding that I had permission to come and take Dakota out for training sessions regularly so that Dakota does not regress in her training. The socialization with other dogs will be wonderful for Dakota. She is almost 8 months, but she is improving so rapidly it’s unbelievable!!
I met them in a motorized cart, because I know that at times, that will be much easier for Charlotte to use instead of her walker in stores. We practiced with me scooting along aside Charlotte and Dakota at various paces, and Dakota quickly got used to having the cart beside her. Then, of course, I had Charlotte get into the motorized cart, showed her how to tie Dakota onto the handlebars so that Dakota had enough room to properly heel and sit if needed, but not enough where she could go in front of the cart. They did superbly!!! Charlotte was such a trooper!! I made her use the horn on the cart, go backward and have her trust that Dakota would find her proper footing, and soon, they were maneuvering in and out of small and large places, around “obstacle courses”, backing up, etc.
Dakota already knows “sit”, “down”, “sit/stay”, “down/stay”, “come”, “watch me”, “controlled load and unload”, is doing automatic “covers” for Charlotte, and has adjusted to her gait very well with the walker. We did several meet and greets with male and female adults, as well as children. Because Dakota is just a happy puppy still, she has trouble maintaining a “sit” position when meeting people, because she gets so excited. But when the do go to pet her, after asking permission, Dakota just gives them kisses and lets them pet all over her.
In one of these pictures, at the very end of the session, a Vietnamese mother and 4 year-old boy asked to pet Dakota. It was SO beautiful to watch. The little boy, who speaks only Vietnamese, was able to pronounce “Dakota”, and he petted her until she actually went into a down submissive position and it was just glorious to see.
One thing I wanted to practice with Dakota was what happens when Charlotte is walking without her walker at home. She has to use furniture, the walls, countertops, etc., to steady her as she tries to get to her destination. So, what I did is I took Dakota, made sure her plastic prong and leash were held tight enough and close enough to my legs so that she was always touching my legs. I chose an area in the grocery section of Walmart and practiced walking like Charlotte walks – with an extremely unsteady gait, using displays, the refrigerator section, and anything I could “bump” into (like I was drunk), making sure that Dakota was ALWAYS touching my legs – no matter how much I stumbled or if she had to switch sides to keep pressed against me. She did this perfectly. My goal – and their homework for the next session – is to have Charlotte practice walking without the walker at home but using Dakota as a brace against her legs to help steady her.
One other technique I thought about was when we practiced the sit/stay. Now, Dakota can do this perfectly when you put her in a sit/stay and walk away facing her or even if you turn your back to her and repeat “stay”. She does this at home beautifully. However, what I wanted to do was to have Dakota get into a “sit/stay”, walk away with my hand up for a long distance, and then, I flip my hand over and lower it and go BACK to Dakota while she stays in the sit/stay.
The reason I did this (I do it with every client, but there was a special need for this for Charlotte in my mind) is because when Charlotte walks up the stairs and puts Dakota in a sit/stay while she uses the railing for bracing, Dakota stays. However, when Charlotte comes back DOWN the stairs, backward, Dakota breaks her sit/stay – and I want Dakota to be able to maintain the sit/stay when Charlotte is coming toward Dakota so that if she ever has a seizure on the stairs, or needs Dakota to be there for extra support, Dakota will remain whether Charlotte is going away from Dakota or coming to Dakota. It’s a complicated process, and we will train at home with all of this next time, but I believe it will be essential for Charlotte’s safety as Dakota becomes her mobility dog.
We did have some fun – Dakota does NOT like hula hoops, so of course, I made her come as close to it as she could by pairing it with a treat literally on the top of the hoop. We also did this with a large red bouncing ball that scared Dakota. We put the treat on the ball as we advanced it slowly toward her, and by the end of this desensitization, Dakota loved the ball and they ended up buying it!!
Well, I know this has been a long write up, but it was a long, important session. I hope to hear some definitive results about the MRI tomorrow, and when they leave for England, the only concern they will have is if Charlotte has a seizure – but these airplanes are equipped to give Charlotte room to have the seizure which her mother and sister will control – and then Charlotte falls asleep.
Again, please ask for prayers.
Firefighters and SD Toby
Our trainer, Jackie, had a wonderful idea! Often, when there is an emergency at someone’s home, and they have a Service Dog, the SD isn’t quite sure how to react to EMS, fire engines, sirens, people breaking down doors, etc.. In addition, many of these first responders aren’t quite sure how to deal with a protective Service Dog. So Jackie went out and had a training session with a Fire Station here in San Antonio! She writes:
“Just wanted to let everyone know that the firefighters on 281 and Jones Maltsberger are absolutely awesome! Since a lot of Service Dogs don’t know how to react to first responders and vice-versa, I did a training session out there today. We had about 3 or 4 firefighters working with us. They suited up, moved the truck around, did lights, and did sirens. It was absolutely awesome! I would recommend working with them and any of your local first responders to do this type of training! I let them know they may see more of us doing training out there!!!!
Great job, Jackie!!!! And thank you for participating, client Lindsey and SD Toby!!!
SDiT Buddy
Our Austin trainer, Emmett, had his first session with a local family and their son. The son suffers from autism and mobility issues. Their SDIT is a Labrador Retriever named “Buddy”.
Emmett writes:
“I met with the family and their SDiT prospect, Buddy. Buddy passed the temperament and trainability test with flying colors! He is a 10 month-old lab that they purchased from a breeder some time ago and since then, he and their son have become bonded. Buddy allowed me to touch him all over his body and inside his mouth. He accepted treats from my hand. He has no history of aggression toward people or other animals. Buddy is able to “sit” on command. He is also up to date on all vaccines and is on monthly heart/flea/tick/etc. preventative. He makes decent eye contact but, being a puppy, his attention wanders – so that will need to be worked on.
No tasks were worked on at this session. We brainstormed as a team what tasks would be beneficial for their son. The family would like Buddy to be trained to help the son when he becomes upset (the child has significant cognitive disabilities). Deep Pressure Therapy and tactile stimulation are the tasks we have decided on for this.
As the child matures, they would like the team to be trained for bracing and counterbalance, as their son goes through periods of time where his stability is impaired. They are aware that Buddy cannot begin heavy mobility training until his joints and bones finish growing. He will start “light mobility” (being trained to retrieve objects their son drops or needs) in the meantime.
Buddy is very, very friendly, but his focus needs to be worked on. I believe this will be Buddy’s biggest hurdle while training. He is very curious about the world, but also very well-rounded. I see him doing good things for their son soon!
The family will continue to work on “sit” with Buddy. They will also work on “down”, “off” and “watch me” until they come back from their family vacation.”
Prayers for Tony
PLEASE pray for our dear former trainer, Tony, and client – my second Service Dog trained years ago. He already had one kidney transplant donated by his AF wife – He has since moved – but wrote the following:
“Laurie – Well my kidneys finely failed – had to get emergency surgery to place a catheter in my chest for dialysis, and to go back to get the fistula raised in my arm so now I to go get plugged in to a machine every other day..
Miss you all. Love, Tony and SD Lucy.”
His lovely young daughter wrote:
“My dad (Tony Cuciniello) had the first round of dialysis today he got through it great just really tired from the surgery they did to put in a central line I’m proud of him he has been through so much and stands strong I just hope he feels better soon and I’m here for him no matter what smile emoticon I love you daddy.”
His loving wife wrote on their anniversary:
“23 years ago I married the man of my dreams Tony Cuciniello, who I love just as much now as I did then. 15 years ago today is also the anniversary of Tony’s kidney transplant. Happy Anniversary sweetheart. I love you now, forever and always!”
Here is a picture of Tony being comforted by his forever companion, SD Lucy. His daughter put this hat on him to make him feel happier.
Evalynn and Oreo
From our trainer Terry, in El Paso, who did an assessment with new client Evalynn, who suffers from depression, stress and severe social anxiety. She would like a Service Dog who will distract her from her depressive thoughts, scratching herself, major panic attacks, and feeling lonely. Her SDIT is a 5 year-old Chihuahua named “Oreo”.
Terry writes:
“A temperament and trainability test was performed on Oreo, and he passed with flying colors! Oreo knows some basic commands, and upon command executed them to a good degree of accuracy. From my observation, I can detect a very strong bond between Evalynn and Oreo, and the dog’s willingness to assist and please Evalynn. This is a small dog – only 8 lbs, and the living arrangement with other dogs and cats in the home is excellent. The dogs have a fenced in back yard where they exercise and play in a safe environment. I checked for any skin discoloration, scars, protruding bones, teeth decay, and any other sign that might indicate a pending health risk, and there was none found. I would highly recommend Evalynn and her dog Oreo for Service Dog training. It will be a pleasure to work with them!”
Veronica and her son’s SDiT Shaggy
From our wonderful trainer, Beverli, who had a session with Veronica, who has a 7 year-old son with autism and is nonverbal. He also has no sense of danger, and on a couple of occasions he has wandered off. Their SDIT is Labrador/Ridgeback mix, “Shaggy”. Beverli writes:
“We had our session today at Walmart, working on fine-tuning all the fundamentals of Shaggy’s public manners and techniques. In addition to usual distractions public places provide, we also introduced grocery store scents and food scents at his level. Shaggy ignored them completely and stayed focused beautifully! He is growing more comfortable in new situations and places, and is able to “settle” much more quickly. Homework given for the next session was having Veronica and her son continue taking Shaggy to new places, and challenging his focus.”
P.I.S.T.L.E. – Post Iincident Stress & Trauma in Law Enforcement
We were contacted by this wonderful organization to see if Service Dogs could be trained for them to help with the PTSD that so many law enforcement officers experience. What a wonderful opportunity to help!
Source: P.I.S.T.L.E.
