Category Archives: Bipolar

Bipolar, Depression, Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior Nathan and Owen

An update from Beverly, who is working with Wounded Warrior Nathan, who suffers from PTSD, depression, and bipolar disorder due to childhood abuse and deployments, and his SDIT, “Owen”!

“We did our first training session at a public location. Although Nathan and Owen have been practicing, they hadn’t made any serious trips. Now that they have their own vest and ID, we wanted to give them practice. We started in the garden section and practiced basic behaviors and commands. Then, with the assistance of a sales person there, we had Owen practice staying seated while someone petted him. He did well for his first “petting” from a stranger. Then, we found a cart and practiced pushing the cart with Owen heeling right next to the cart through turns, tight spots, other people, etc. Owen did very well!

Owen was a little nervous with all the sounds and people, but he quickly adjusted and recovered very well from loud noises with very little startle. Good boy with heeling, with a cart, with sitting and watching out when we stopped and took a break. Good Boy Owen! Good Job Nathan! Owen brings Nathan a lot of joy.”

Anxiety, Austin, Bipolar, Depression, Hearing, Mobility, Pain Management, Texas

One more to go – Lee and SDiT Hagger

An update from our trainer in Austin, who trained with the amazing Hagger the Humungous and his dad, Lee, who suffers from Bi-Polar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and Major Social Anxiety. He also has major hearing loss in his left ear which also causes balance issues. He has scoliosis and chronic right shoulder pain.

“I wanted to let you know on Sunday afternoon, I did a 1/2 hour Mock Public Access Test session with Lee and Hagger. We went to Walmart and went over some all commands for the PAT. Hagger has his commands perfected and is so ready for the test in September! We practiced sit/stays while I rolled by with a shopping cart and worked on down.stays. Hagger has a strong “leave it” when it comes to food and certain things that can distract him. He heels next to Lee with no problems and never once strays from him! They are a great duo!”

WAY TO GO HAGGER AND LEE!!!!! SO PROUD OF BOTH OF YOU!!!

 

Bipolar, Houston, Hypoglycemia, Medical Alert, Texas

Caden and Cole

SO, SO PROUD of Caden and Cole, with now Service Dog, Axel!!!!! On my trip to Houston, I had the AMAZING pleasure of meeting the entire family. Mom, Kendra, is brilliant and SO good at multitasking – I was literally watching her in awe! 8 year-old Cole has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, so Axel has been training with him and his mother to help stabilize his moods. As a happy “by-product”, Axel has also alerted naturally to younger son Caden’s hypoglycemia! We did the Public Access Test, and I was literally blown away by how incredible a trainer mom Kendra is. Axel performed every single command to perfection – and Kendra is so smart and intuitive that she can give commands to Axel verbally or using hand signals so quickly and efficiently while walking with Cole that I literally asked her if she had considered becoming a dog trainer. She has a lot on her plate, but again, Axel and Cole, with the constant supervision of Kendra, performed everything perfectly. Axel calms Cole when he is upset, applying deep pressure, alerts when Cole is having “episodes”, alerts to Caden’s hypoglycemia, and always has his eye out for where Cole is to ensure his safety. It was a fascinating experience and I am SO very proud of this family and their new Service Dog, Axel!!!!!

ADHD, Anxiety, Austin, Bipolar, PTSD, Texas

Session With Hannah And Addie

From our wonderful trainer in Austin, who is working with 15 year-old Hannah and diagnosed with PTSD, Mood Disorder(Bipolar Disorder), Anxiety Disorder, ADHD Combined type :

“Hi Laurie!

I just had a session with Hannah and Addie! Addie has grown since I saw her back in May.  She is now 4 months old and weighs 27 pounds; her vet predicts her to be at least 70 pounds once she is full grown and matured. She is so sweet and curious about the outside world!

We met at a Petsmart, and worked on getting German Shepherd Addie used to distractions around her. I gave Hannah some basic tips to work on the duration of Addie’s “stays.” Addie knows “sit” and “down” very well and on command. I also started Hannah on loose-leash walking and heeling by her side, as well to incorporate the close behavior whenever Addie forges ahead.

The family is working on Addie are jumping and chewing on things. So, I told them to focus on redirecting her chewing to toys, bones and etc.As for the jumping, I told Hannah to gently pull either turn her back to Addie until she stops jumping and told her to put Addie into a “sit” or a “down” and have that be the default behaviors every time she jumps up on somebody to give hugs. I also Addie the basic steps of “leave it” because Addie will go after food that drops to the floor.

Addie is incredibly smart and sensitive to her surroundings. I am pumped to see the progress continue between Hannah and Addie as Addie grows into a mature female. Hannah and Addie are two peas in a pod and Addie is greatly going to serve Hannah when she gets older.”

YAY FOR YOUR COURAGE HANNAH! BE SURE TO DO THE HOMEWORK, AND ADDIE WILL JUST GET BETTER AND BETTER! WONDERFUL WORK BY OUR TRAINER.

Anxiety, Bipolar, General, New Mexico, Panic Attack, Psychiatric

SDiT Sadie Update

From Michelle, our trainer in New Mexico, who is working with Terryn, who suffers from panic disorder, agoraphobia, bipolar disorder, and her SDIT, Sadie!

“Today I met with SDIT Sadie (she is Mastiff and Lab mix) we only worked on Sit/Stay and Down/Stay.  Although she is 5 months old, she is learning to focus on mom and make progress with “watch me”. It takes her a little while to remember that mom is in charge, but once we begin working, Sadie warms up quickly and remembers her commands.

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.”

Agoraphobia, Bipolar, New Mexico, Panic Attack

Terryn and SDiT Sadie

An update from Michelle, our trainer in New Mexico, who is working with Terryn, who suffers from panic disorder, agoraphobia, and bipolar disorder.

“I worked with SDIT Sadie and her mom, Terryn on Saturday 6/28. Training went well. Sadie is now approx 5 months old, and had a couple sessions with the puppy obedience class. She is a bit skittish around the other dogs (approx 30 in her class), so the socialization will help. Sadie was a little nervous around my dog, Ms.Abby, however, Sadie warmed up to her after they sniffed a bit and did the proper dog introductions!

We worked on the commands “Sit with Stay” then “Recall”, and “Down” and “Leave it”. She is doing great based on her age! Sadie is still attentive to everything around her. I think that with Abby there with her showing her “the ropes”, she was able to focus a little more on the training, and learned that she got treats when she did what was asked of her. She got better and better with commands as time went on.

We eventually got Sadie to sit and stay with me, I dropped the leash, mom walked about 20′ away and called her, and she returned to mom with no issues. She never tried to go astray. Great JOB!!!!

Sadie is not used to the treats, as her puppy class does not use them. So in teaching her “leave it” with the “down and stay”, she was tempted, but finally learned that she had to not take it, and focused on other things.

Sadie is very aware of her surroundings, and Terryn kept trying to make Sadie focus on her with “watch me”. I explained that Sadie was just on alert for those that could potentially walk up to mom without her knowing.

After training, we treated both Sadie and Abby with a run in the dog park, to help Sadie socialize with a few other dogs – and she was great! She was not skittish and followed mom – even off leash.”MIchelle and SDiT Sadie

WONDERFUL WORK SADIE, TERRY, ABBY, AND MICHELLE!!

Anxiety, Austin, Bipolar, Depression, Texas

Lee and Hagger

From our trainer in Austin, who is working with wonderful client, Lee, who suffers from Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and Major Social Anxiety, major hearing loss in the left ear which also causes balance issues, scoliosis, and chronic right shoulder pain – at such a young age! Lee is SO inspirational!

“Hi Laurie,

I just had my third session with Lee and Hagger tonight. They are doing very well Lee wanted to work on Hagger’s possessiveness/resource guarding with dinner and his bone towards their friend Johnny. Hagger gives a little growl anytime Johnny walks by him while he is eating dinner or chewing on his bone. So I worked with Johnny on being in Hagger’s space while eating dinner and had him reinforce Hagger for not growling, positive reinforcement for no reaction. Same thing with his bone as well. I also questioned if it was because Johnny would stand over him and if that was a trigger for his growling, so I told Johnny and Lee to watch if he growls when Johnny sits down at Hagger’s level or only when he stands…..

We also worked on his Hagger’s heeling in the parking lot; by that time, Hagger the Humungous was tired from training. I also give Lee some tips on what to do when Hagger forges ahead. I taught Lee the close position to bring Hagger back to place. His eye contact was good. After talking with Lee and keeping up with his Facebook posts on training, I know they are ready for the PAT in the next couple of sessions. I am so proud of Lee for being committed to the training and Hagger is doing a fine job!”

SO PROUD OF YOU, LEE AND HAGGER! YOUR CONSISTENT WORK, STRONG BOND, AND BELIEF IN THE PROCESS IS PAYING OFF! WONDERFUL TRAINING BY OUR TRAINER IN AUSTIN!!!!