An update from our trainer, Andrew, who is working with Brooklyn, who suffers from PTSD, flashbacks, anxiety, and nightmares, and his SDIT, Starlette.
“This was a wonderful session where we discussed the importance of duration. Since the Public Access Test requires that the dog stay in the commanded position (i.e. down or sit, for at least three minutes), we discussed that. Starlette is doing extremely well. She has taken to her new family, and has become very protective over Brooklyn’s son and Brooklyn himself, but in a positive and progressive way. In times of stress, Starlette will take the lead and push back in a “cover” position against Brooklyn as of to say “you can stand back I got this”, and she will hold her ground in a non aggressive way. She has learned to play a game which they have aptly named “find Sean” which is the name of Brooklyn’s son, where Starlette will go find the two year old boy, circle him, and sit next to him. Brooklyn has worked on the “find your spot” game. The “find your spot” game is the act of the dog finding a handler-designated spot for the dog to go to when told. Starlette has her spot in each of the three main rooms in the house (the kitchen, the living room, and the bedroom). She is doing so well that Brooklyn is going to begin taking her to work with him where he works as a chef in the kitchen at a hospital on 32nd street in downtown Austin!
“I met with Ronnie and SDIT Roxy today at Toys R Us. Roxy did a controlled load and unload of of the vehicle. She walked safely in the park
We walked through the store and Ronnie and Roxy had a meet and greet with a customer and she did it perfectly. I also put some quarters in the ride on machine at the front of the store to see what her reaction would be, and she was unsure at first, but with some reassuring she was over it in a matter of seconds. Ronnie also put her in a sit/stay and walked to the other side of the aisle and around the aisle (I was holding the leash) and she stayed. She did, however, stand up when he was back in her sight because she was so happy to see him again! Roxy does have some anxiety when Ronnie isn’t in her sight in public, but I more believe it’s because she knows he needs her – it’s just the way they interact and how she is constantly looking at him and how he interacts with her. She just lays on the floor and watches Ronnie.
We also walked next door to the grocery store. We worked on walking through the store and practiced “leave it” with Roxy not sniffing. We will continue to work in that. We will work some more at the mall next week to see how she does at sitting down and eating and also work on Roxy’s nervousness around the bedding aisle. Ronnie taught Roxy “belly rub” and “Shake” and “hugs”!
I wondered why this happened, and now I know. My spinal surgery – done before Trooper passed – failed. My disc herniated once more, worse than before, and now I’m going to have to get a spinal fusion. Because of all of my other health problems, I will most likely spend three weeks unable to walk and will have to go through extensive physical therapy. A close loved one recently passed away. I felt completely alone, terrified, hurt. I felt like I had nowhere to go. Then, one day, I curled up on the floor to cry… and both of my girls crawled over to me to lie down on me. They licked away my tears, made me feel like I wasn’t alone, and then… I slept.
So dear everybody reading this, let me tell you something, okay? It gets better. It may seem like it never will. You might be scared. You might be hurting. You might be sick… I’m right there with you… and let me tell you: you’re not alone. You’re never alone. You’ve got the people at Service Dog Express, just like I do… and you have your dogs. They change lives.
“I met with client Sarah and SDIT Lacey today. It was 
“At our initial meeting, Panther wa
At our first training session, we worked on “Sit” and “Down”, then started on “Short Stay” for them to work on through the week. Panther caught on quickly, but he also gets bored quickly. We discussed the need for short training sessions (15-20 mins) a couple times per day. In addition, Warrant should be consistent with the rules for Panther; for him to work with Panther before meals so that Panther is treat-motivated. Warrant should also ensure they have appropriate “pack structure” within the house and that Panther is not allowed to “be the boss.” They both (Warrant and Panther) seemed to enjoy the session and look forward to learning more. I look forward to seeing what this little spunky dog is capable of. He’s very smart, and so is Warrant!”
A long, overdue congratulations to Wounded Warriors Anthony Pottebaum and Andrew Doyle for graduating from their Wounded Warrior Project’s TRACK program!! It was a wonderful ceremony, and a dozen or so other graduates were honored – Anthon
I am so proud of each of them and Bonnie and I came to show our support. What a wonderful achievement!!! Anthony’s wife, Rowena, and her SD, Blessed were there, as well as Andrew’s wife, Danielle. Now they are off to new lives in the civilian sector!!!
Oh – what a WONDERFUL session I had with beautiful, brilliant compassionate client Elizabeth, an Active Duty Wounded Warrior, and her AMAZING SDIT, Beatrice!! Elizabeth gladly let me bring along one of our trainers in training, Sue, who st
Beatrice and Elizabeth are doing AMAZINGLY!!!! Elizabeth still gets nervous when we start and as we do certain things, because, like most clients in training, they are hopeful that their dog will perform well and Elizabeth DEFINITELY needs to work on her confidence in Beatrice! This beautiful young Mastiff just blows me away with her abilities!! I have to giggle (not in a mean way) at Elizabeth because I know just how well Beatrice is going to do – but she still gets nervous. Of course, I remind her that the dog can sense when the handler is anxious or not confident, so that gets the dog a bit worried about itself – but after our session at Walmart, I know Elizabeth saw just how amazing Beatrice and she do at so many things.
We had SO much fun at the Super Walmart!!! Of course, Beatrice knows sit, down, long sit/stay, long down/stay (even when Elizabeth is out of sight now using only her voice), leave it, come, wait, controlled entry and exit into and out of cars and buildings, walking with the leash dropped and staying in a heel, and shake! The team did TONS of meet and greets because, of course, the sheer magnitude of Beatrice and her gently demeanor draw everyone’s attention! Poor Elizabeth was so gracious to everyone who asked to pet, and educated them on proper SD etiquette, speaking as well about visible and invisible injuries requiring a SD. All meet and greets with children and adult males and females were beautifully executed – Beatrice would sometimes give her paw to shake “hello”, or she would take a treat (she slobbers quite a bit due to her breed so Elizabeth always has a slobber cloth along), or she would just enjoy a loving pet.
Beatrice is entranced by the fish display!!!!! It’s adorable. She also is impervious to created distractions of any type. And I tried everything – bouncing balls, bicycles, hula hoops, balloons, loud items dropped behind her, motorized wheelchairs…I could go on and on. Needless to say, it was a delightful experience and we spent a lot of time together because it was so much fun – and then after we left, Elizabeth felt confident enough to go back in with Beatrice and actually do some shopping alone on her own!!!
I have several wonderful pictures, but also some meaningful ones, as Elizabeth’s husband was recently hospitalized (he is OK), but Beatrice was stellar at the hospital.
