An update from trainer Cherry Jenkins, who is training with Nancy, who suffers with mobility, vertigo, and anxiety, and her husband, Jim, who suffers mobility and anxiety, and their SDIT, Stella!
Stella is absolutely stunning! Stella is part Rottweiler/ part Wolf, which makes her a truly beautiful dog!
Stella is the SDIT to Nancy and her husband Jim. Even though they have only had a few session due to interruptions with their health, they have made tremendous strides with Stella, training whenever they can. This really showed at our latest session in Target.
Stella ‘heeled’ beautifully at all times and we practiced ‘leave it’, ‘stay’, and ‘down’. Stella kept perfectly calm even when a group of noisy children walked their way. Stella is also learning to ‘cover’ as one of her three tasks.”
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We began at the park with very little shade compared to our last meeting, and moved to a local pet store a few miles away. Both girls (my TD Abby and Sadie) seemed to listen more with the cooler temperatures of the store. We continued to work on down/stay with sit/stay and “leave it” (with many new smells of rabbits, birds, ferrets, and fish). Both girls were complimented on their behaviors and really didn’t mind the other animals since they were the only 2 dogs in the store. The only time they had the slightest interest in the other animals was when the birds where moving or out of the cages.”
Another TREMENDOUS training session with dear 24 year-old Alissa, and her SD, Greta!!! Despite all the physical problems Alissa has been going through, Greta is right by her side, comforting her, and conducting herself PERFECTLY in public.
leave it, load and unload – it’s like they are tied together by an invisible “love” bond. Greta is not phased by any distractions I tried to create, and the ONLY thing we need to work on is that at home, when Alissa is feeling ill, it comforts her when big Greta gently wraps her front arms and paws around Alissa. The hugs make her feel wonderful. When we are doing meet and greets, Greta, who loves everyone (but Alissa the most), will do a gentle meet and greet and take treats gently, but as people (mostly children) want to keep petting her, she does a little “bunny hop” because she wants to wrap her arms around them, too. So that is what we will be working on. It’s a tricky one – because we want Greta to continue doing it with Alissa – but not to anyone else. So, teaching her where and when it’s appropriate without dampening her enthusiasm at home is a thinker.
On a side note, you’ll notice a woman in a wheelchair in the picture to the right. When this woman first saw Greta, Greta instantly went up to her and laid her head on this woman’s chest. The woman started crying, and petting gentle Greta. We asked her if she was OK – and it turns out, this woman had literally been diagnosed with lung cancer at the very spot where Greta laid her head. She just cradled Greta’s head and neck in her arms and cried. It was literally something out of a storybook. Greta instinctively knew where this woman was hurting, and brought so much happiness so this woman who said that just meeting Greta brought her out of her despair for several wonderful moments.
CONGRATULATIONS to Wounded Warrior Christopher and his wife Megan, who just had a baby girl – Piper Tensley Willis!!! Christopher and his wonderful SD Maggie were apart for the first two days while in the hospital – humble Christopher didn
Christopher then talked to the nurses on the floor and they stated that they had already talked to their head nurse and she was aware of Maggie and was okay with her! Yay! The nurses on the floor said that they would talk to the officer if he comes to the floor. I reassured him that if he had any other problems, he could call me asap on my personal cell phone.
A posting from our trainer Michelle, in New Mexico!
When I first entered, Osito was a little nervous of the “new person in the house”, but soon warmed up to me. He is so sweet and gentle, yet he the Alpha of the pack! He is 1 of 6 dogs in the home, and seems to rule the roost! Once he finally warmed up to me, 
he allowed me to handle him, and assess his temperament. He then laid on the floor next to me, very comfortable. Upon visiting with Beto, and finding out how Osito will be assisting him, I had a tour of a very dog-friendly home with beautiful yard for them to roam, including a dog run from the back yard to the front fence.
Beto will have Osito trained for Diabetic alert purposes and medication reminders. Upon assessing this team, I feel that the bond is very strong and breaking Osito of a few bad habits will be rather easy. Getting him used to certain commands might be the trick. 🙂
Viva and Kimberly took to each other immediately. Kimberly suffers with seizures and anxiety, and needs a dog to help her cope with every day life as well have Viva trained to detect and alert if Kimberly will have or has a seizure.
Viva looked at Kimberly directly in her eyes and smiled and was happy to lay down by her side while we chatted about the entire process and our journey together. Kimberly has the wonderful support of her family, who were there at the meeting and were equally thrilled at the instant connection that Viva and Kimberly had.
Kimberly’s mom, Tonya, said that she could see that Viva was going to change Kimberly’s life. I agree, and I am so pleased that they have invited me along on their journey.