Anxiety, Austin, Experience, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

Update from beloved client, Emmett

A meaningful, short update from beloved client, Emmett, who suffers from severe PTSD and anxiety. He and his Service Dog, Daphne, have a bond that is truly unbelievable.

“Hey Laurie, just wanted to send you an update. Going to work and class has been difficult lately. I’ve been having some neurological issues and small seizures. Daphne hasn’t left my side though. Normally, she will get up and lay elsewhere when she gets hot, but after I seize up she lays with me until I want to move around again. She’s been a big support.”

Army, Experience, Military, San Antonio, Self Training, TBI, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Kendra’s selfless act

Here are some bittersweet pictures of the day Kendra, our client from New Jersey, and her mother flew in with TBI and PTSD trained Service Dog Sadie, so that they could hand her off to a client that needed her more than Kendra now that she is recovering. It was a very, very difficult day for Kendra and her dear, loving mother – but they knew in their hearts that there was someone out there who could fully utilize Sadie’s amazing skills. Sadie is staying with the most wonderful foster – Jill – and will be meeting her hopefully new “dad” with PTSD and TBI, Wounded Warrior James, this coming week!!

Kendra and her mother arrived back home in New Jersey, and they have definitely felt the absence of this amazing Service Dog that they have had for almost her entire life. But both Kendra and her mother are so strong – they fight back their tears with the reminder that Sadie will continue to help someone else and retain the amazing, loving spirit that only Kendra could have instilled in Sadie.

Here are some pictures of the last day they had together. Of course, they will always have visitation rights!!!!

BLESS YOU, KENDRA AND MOM LORI!!!

Anxiety, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

Elizabeth and Zoe

Laurie writes:

I had a WONDERFUL session with Elizabeth, who suffers from PTSD and anxiety, and her SDIT, Zoe!  Elizabeth already takes Zoe to work with her every day, and Zoe has a wonderful little “nesting” spot with blankets and chew toys and water and everything she needs so she is happy and calm – and never leaves Elizabeth’s side.  Elizabeth takes her out to the park area near her office where they take walks and potty breaks as often as needed, and they spend their lunch hour together walking or frolicking.  There are deer in the park, and Zoe just wants to PLAY with them!!!  The deer look at her like, “What the heck ARE you?”

Anyway, today we went to HEB.  It was crowded, but not too badly.  Zoe was perfect.  Elizabeth still needs to work on maintaining her confidence in Zoe’s amazing abilities – but that is something that comes with time.  I explained to Elizabeth that Zoe was doing exactly what she needed to do – avoiding distractions, smells, loud noises, doing perfect meet and greets, and that it was OK that Zoe often walks with her nose to the ground sniffing – she’s got quite a good nose on her!  We even practiced sit/stays and down/stays in the middle of semi-busy aisles – and Zoe was great.  I did the first few rounds, and Zoe stayed the length of the aisle – then as soon as I said “Come”, she scampered right to me and went into a sit.  When Elizabeth tried it, I know it was a bit frustrating for her, because Zoe is SO bonded to Elizabeth that it is more difficult to understand that if Elizabeth puts her in a sit/stay and walks away facing her, repeating the word “stay” with her hand up and maintaining eye contact, that Elizabeth is not “leaving” her.  But after a few intense practice sessions, Zoe started to understand that Elizabeth was just going a short distance, and she started to feel more comfortable with staying until Elizabeth told Zoe to “come”.

Even though this type of occurrence is not something that one would usually expect to happen in a public place, I explained to Elizabeth the reasoning behind the necessity of learning this behavior.  If, for some reason, Elizabeth were to drop the leash accidentally in any public place – especially a busy one – and Elizabeth walked away without realizing it, it would be very important for Zoe’s safety to have Elizabeth be able to immediately turn and tell Zoe to stay, for Zoe’s safety – especially at a distance.

I also reiterated that Elizabeth should only be carrying specialized training treats that are easily accessible to her when we are doing training or when she is out with Zoe.  Overall, Zoe and Elizabeth did a wonderful job.  We just need to work on Elizabeth’s confidence that Zoe is doing just fine!!

Anxiety, Military, MST, Psychiatric, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Vietnam Era Veteran and her SD

From our loving trainer, Brenda, who is working with Denise, who is a Vietnam Era Veteran with PTSD due to MST while on active duty, and her SDIT, Sandy.  She is currently in a wheelchair, and sometimes can walk with a cane.  Brenda writes:

At this session, Denise and Sandy nailed down all the basic commands! Sandy was a bit stubborn with learning “down” at first,  but was doing great by the end. We worked a lot on directions working with the wheelchair –right, left, back up, and turn around, so that Sandy knows where to go or be carefully situation when we go out in public for training.

At our next session, we met near the bus stop and took a bus to HEB. We walked around practicing Sandy’s ability to adjust to heeling in next to the wheelchair in all different directions. I am so impressed with how much Sandy has learned since our last session! Denise has been doing great work with her!  Sandy was very patient while Denise and I browsed around HEB, and caught on quickly not to sniff food or people. We went to Jack In the Box to restaurant train. Once we got Sandy under the table, she stayed under and laid down to take a nap while we ate. Sandy does not ever beg for food. When the bus was too tight of a squeeze for Denise to turn around in with the wheelchair on the way home, we discovered that the perfect way for them to board was Denise going in backward, and Sandy following her onto the bus!

Anxiety, Depression, Houston, PTSD, Texas

Lynsie and SDiT Casper

From our incredible trainer, Kendra, in Houston, who is training with Lynsie. Lynsie suffers with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Kendra writes:

Lynsie renamed Casper, a dog that Kendra had been fostering, to “Bruce”. We met outside of Target to get Bruce introduced to all sorts of distractions.

Both Lynsie and Bruce did very well! We worked on our “downs” and “sits” in the public arena, and also worked on “leave it” as people walked past us.

One couple stopped to talk to us about Bruce because he is a pitbull and gets a lot of attention. We had Bruce remain in a “sit” or “down” while the people were talking to us, which is an important part of the Public Access Test.

Lynsie will continue working on bringing Bruce to public locations (not inside the stores yet), and getting Bruce comfortable with people, noises and going different places until we can train again together.

Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Seizure, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warriors Paul and Dawn with SDiT Skye

A wonderful update from our outstanding trainer and owner of In Dog We Trust rescue, Cherry Jenkins. Cherry is working with Wounded Warriors Paul and Dawn, who are married and both suffer from PTSD. Dawn also suffers from epilepsy. Cherry writes:

“I met Paul, Dawn, and gorgeous Skye – their Italian Mastiff – for our first training session.

Paul and his wife Dawn had told me they had done some training with Skye, but I was blown away by how much they had done! It was almost as if we were doing a practice PAT at our first session! Skye walks perfectly off-leash next to Paul as seen here in the photo, and “sits” and “stays” beautifully. Her heeling is perfect.

Both Dawn and Paul are retired military and both have the need of Skye, so Skye will be doing “double duty”. It takes a very special dog to be able to do this, and a very serious understanding by both members of the household that if the trainer agrees that the dog can take on such work, the owners must be very attentive to the dog’s behavior to make sure it is not overworked emotionally. Skye has bonded wonderfully to both Paul and Dawn, and will be outstanding working in this capacity.

We will be meeting next week to take the training to restaurants. This is one incredible SDIT and such dedicated owners who take their Service Dog training very seriously. It is an honor to train with them.

Air Force, Anxiety, Military, Mobility, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior Jamie and SDiT Zulu

Laurie had the AMAZINGLY distinct pleasure of meeting and training with Wounded Warrior, Jamie, who suffers from a back injury and anxiety, and her MAGNIFICENT German Shepherd, ZULU!!!!

Laurie writes:

When I first opened the door, I was simply aghast at how strikingly beautiful this dog was. If I could handcraft a German Shepherd, it would look like Zulu! From the very beginning, Zulu was polite, responded to Jamie’s commands, made absolutely incredible eye contact, took treats gently, and already knew “sit”, “down”, “sit/stay”, “down/stay” (even when I disappeared out of sight), “heel”, “wait”, “leave it” with food, “load”, “unload” – just incredible. And Jamie herself – what an amazingly compassionate, gentle, kind, and brilliant person – who I felt like I had known for years!!!

I was astounded at how much training she had already done with Zulu. I asked her how she did it! She was so humble – and just smiled and shrugged her shoulders and said that she and her partner read the manual (an added star for her!), but had already done training with Zulu by themselves based upon their knowledge of dogs and what they had seen with the military dogs (using POSITIVE reinforcement only). Zulu, who is 18 months old, is playful yet extremely gentle with her little tiny Maltipoo brother, “Sarge”, and they get along famously. Zulu has that adorable quirk in German Shepherds with big tall ears where if you say something in high-pitched voice and tilt your head, she tilts her head along with you – then again, then again! It was adorable!! But truly, the eye contact was impeccable. I encouraged Jamie to use the “watch me” command as often as possible to reinforce this.

After I had done all these commands with Zulu on our first meeting, then Jamie demonstrated the ability to do exactly the same – except, of course, the stays were a bit more difficult because Zulu has an amazing bond with Jamie, and doesn’t like it when she disappears around the corner!! After the session, we went into the backyard, and Zulu amazed me AGAIN! Jamie can throw the ball, tell Zulu to “get it”, Zulu runs like wildfire, Jamie says “bring it”, then with “give it”, Zulu will either drop it right at her feet, or we worked on having Zulu gently put it in Jamie’s hands. Jamie will continue to work on this because with her severe back pain, it will be beneficial for Zulu to be able to retrieve items. We will continue to work on that with different household items.

At our second session, we met at Petsmart. Zulu performed perfect heels with the prong collar held upright in just the perfect direction and fit. I tried many different types of distractions walking behind Zulu and dropping items, and Zulu did not break her heel. We navigated through aisles using the words “left” and “right”. There weren’t many dogs there at the time, but the ones that were there, we asked if Zulu could meet, and whatever breed or size they were, Zulu did a loving, appropriate “sniffing” how-do-you-do, and all dogs reacted positively to her. We did several meet and greets, and Zulu had a bit of difficulty staying in the “sit” position because she wanted to approach the child or adult, so we will work on that. We did meet and talk with a Vietnam Veteran who was in a motorized wheelchair, and he just loved Zulu. We gave him treats to put in his hands, and it was a bit awkward for him because of his arthritis, but he was absolutely willing and excited and Zulu was gentle taking the treats, and then let the man pet her as we stood and talked with him for about 10 minutes. Zulu was patient, eventually just lying down while we finished our conversation. That is important for a Service Dog.

We then took a shopping cart, and safely tied Zulu’s leash to the cart giving her just the right amount of leash to heel alongside the cart, but not so much that she could go in front of the cart – which is extremely important. You always want the dog to be in a heel position next to any shopping cart so that it can still respond to commands such as sit, watch me, etc. Zulu adapted flawlessly, even when Jamie did maneuvers like backing up quickly and taking tight turns. Zulu repositioned her body easily to each change in direction.

Next, we will meet at Walmart at 6 pm when it is busy! And I forgot to mention – Zulu already naturally responds to Jamie when her anxiety levels are high or she is in pain by going to her and applying pressure or just snuggling to comfort her. These two will be ready to pass the PAT in no time!!

Experience, Military, Mobility, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

CONGRATULATIONS JASON, SD CADENCE, AND PAT

CONGRATULATIONS JASON, CADENCE, AND PAT for working so hard to make this dream a reality for Jason!!

A wonderful report from our incredible trainer, Pat, who has been working tirelessly with Wounded Warrior Jason, who is currently in rehabilitation for his physical injuries at the VA, and his now Service Dog, Cadence!!!

Pat writes:

“Cadence had been trained through Service Dog Express over a year ago for an autistic child, but the family had too many issues going on, and decided that their daughter did not need a Service Dog. Laurie trained with them for quite a long time, and Cadence (formerly named Amy), was an absolutely PERFECT Service Dog for this young girl. Cadence passed the ADI Public Access Test (PAT) flawlessly, and Laurie was absolutely amazed by Cadence’s ability to handle the autistic young girl’s behavior. Poor Cadence had to leave the family she had served for so long, but it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

So the WONDERFUL news is that Cadence quickly found the perfect match with Jason on December 5, 2014. He had always wanted a Boxer, and their connection was immediate. His daughter picked her new name, changing it from “Amy” to “Cadence”. But because Jason was in residence at an Audie Murphy Transitional Rehabilitation facility, he was unable to keep her with him in house. Thus, she was welcomed into my home until such time as Jason was able to take her full time.

Keep in mind as you look through the pictures that Cadence came fully trained by Laurie, and since Cadence had already passed the PAT, her transition to Jason was seamless. In order to ensure she was ready to move on to a completely different person and situation as a Service Dog, we conducted several training sessions with Cadence and Jason. She quickly picked up the few new skills she needed, including working with a wheelchair and then a walker that Jason required. It didn’t seem to matter to her that she was now working with an adult male as opposed to a young girl. In fact, she adores Jason! I enabled Cadence and Jason to spend more time together, not formally training, so as to give them more time to get to know each other.

While Cadence had demonstrated all the line item behaviors and skills of the PAT during her training sessions and visits, we ran her through the test just one more time at the Shops at La Cantera and Bass Pro Shop, in San Antonio, on a busy Sunday afternoon. Despite even only having sporadic time with Jason over the past two months, Cadence and Jason still passed the PAT with flying colors. At La Cantera, we took a long walk through the mall, and that day was the very first time Cadence experienced a walker. She is hyper-vigilant watching out for Jason, which is truly amazing and reassuring for Jason.

Next we went to Bass Pro Shop, which was equally as mobbed as La Cantera. The glass elevator fascinated her… Cadence looked out over the store and her head twitched back and forth. The monkeys and other stuffed game animals were of no interest to her! Usually, the dogs Laurie has taken past these stuffed creatures completely freaks the SDIT’s out – so she always had to do careful desensitization with them but not Cadence! In the pictures, she demonstrates her “Watch My Six” move, facing backward to watch behind Jason. That is an amazing task, and adds extra security to Jason while out in public. Cadence performed “stay there” for a girl and worker at Bass Pro to greet and pet her. Then, Cadence performs a “Cover” in front of the walker. She is such a natural!

While Jason is using a walker now, previously he had been non-weight bearing and wheelchair-bound. Also, we took several outings to the grocery store, fast food places, and nice restaurants. It is amazing how comfortable Cadence is in public.”

Service Dog Express would like to personally express their extreme gratitude to Pat for her amazing hard work, willingness to take Cadence in and foster/train her when Jason could not be with her, and do so much training to perfection to ensure that Jason and Cadence will have a long, happy, and fruitful life together!!!!

Finally, ” Chillin’ after a long day” Congratulations to Capt. Jason and Cadence!!!”
Anxiety, Bipolar, Psychiatric, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

Wendy and Capone

From our wonderful trainer, Jackie, who had her initial assessment with new client, Wendy, who unfortunately suffers with Bipolar Disorder 2, Borderline Personality Disorder, anxiety and PTSD. Jackie writes:

“I met with Wendy for the first time to have her Staffordshire Bull Terrier, “Capone”, assessed to be a Service Dog. Capone is wonderful with children, handles the cats well, and is extremely in tune to Wendy’s needs. Capone is a very strong boy that will need some work on his loose-leash walking, but he has already had a good jump start on his basic commands. I am so happy to have Wendy and Capone join as one of the new teams to Service Dog Express!”

Anxiety, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

Elizabeth and Zoe

Thank you so much to our trainer, Jackie, who helped me out by doing a training session in a public place for the first time with my client Elizabeth and her adorable SDIT, Zoe. Elizabeth and I had done extensive training for our first session after the meet and greet at Elizabeth’s place of work, and it went very well. Elizabeth suffers with PTSD and anxiety, and having Zoe with her is really helping – at home and at work. Her workplace is also extremely welcoming to Zoe! They were ready for their first outing at a Walmart, as Zoe has already been out with Elizabeth at Petsmart, and Jackie did the session for me. Thank you Jackie! She writes:

“Elizabeth, Zoe and I completed this training session, which was Zoe’s first public visit in a regular store. Elizabeth did a wonderful job redirecting Zoe from all of the distractions and people at Walmart. I worked with Elizabeth to help her recognize Zoe’s nonverbal signals to her, and to anticipate possible obstacles to Zoe’s success in public (ie: needing bathroom breaks, shorter sessions in public). After a short break, Elizabeth and Zoe practiced heeling in the Lawn and Garden section with an automatic “stop-sit” at the end of every aisle. Zoe caught on very quickly, and responded beautifully to Elizabeth’s verbal and nonverbal commands! They have a wonderful bond already!”