Just a lovely bunch of pictures from Wounded Warrior, Mark, and his amazing SDIT, Jerry Lee! Jerry Lee’s previous owner asked how Jerry Lee was doing, and Mark responded:
“Attached are just a few photos of Jerry, I think my wife might be sending a few as well. You can take comfort in knowing I am so attached to Jerry and truly love him do much.”
An update from training with Wounded Warrior, Joseph, and his SDIT, Viva, who he adopted from In Dog We Trust, rescued by Ms. Cherry Jenkins. Joseph has been in the Air Force for 5 years, but due to several very difficult deployments, has decided to Med-Board out while still serving due to extreme PTSD and shoulder and back injuries. Joseph and Viva have an extremely close bond, and every time Joseph gets nervous (i.e. the minute he steps out his front door), he spends completely focused time on Viva to help calm him and reorient him. Viva also wakes Joseph from his night terrors, which happen approximately 4 times per night during the 4 hours of sleep he gets! This last session, Joseph begrudgingly but with a smile, let me take Viva and him to Petsmart – our first time. Joseph is very hyper-vigilant in parking lots, and I noticed him looking cautiously all around him even walking to his truck, which was parked a good walk away. BUT, Viva already has the front, back, and side covers down naturally, and she is, by nature of her breed, very alert, so I kept explaining to Joseph that he can let down his guard a little – Viva’s on the lookout for him – which she was, everywhere she went. It was very easy to see this behavior in both of them both outside of and inside the store.
Joseph and Viva have the “wait” command down perfectly, so Viva will not enter or exit a building until Joseph says it is ok! Joseph took a deep breath, spent some time talking to and hugging Viva, and they did absolutely perfect controlled loads and unloads into the vehicle, and finally into Petsmart. We got a cart, and the place was quite crowded, which is good for training. We had a long list of things for Joseph to get, so we took our time going up and down aisles with Viva in a perfect heel at all times. Her head would constantly turn inward to do a natural “watch me” with Joseph to ‘check in’, then her head would turn while staying in a heel to keep an eye out on the
surroundings. It was very obvious that Viva is extremely in tune with Joseph’s anxiety (he was beet red and sweating a bit during our time there, but was such a trooper and kept on going!) We got all the items we needed, and when Joseph started to feel overwhelmed, he got down and played with Viva.
Next, I asked him if he was ready to do just ONE meet and greet. He took a deep breath, and said that he had gotten this far, why not! I reminded him how amazingly well he was doing – this was literally his first time in a store for more than 5 minutes since the return from his last deployment (his neighbors do his grocery shopping for him – I told him he needs to eat more because he’s losing weight and his fridge is empty!) So, we approached a kind family with adults and children, explained that this was a SDIT, and that they had to ask Joseph first before petting Viva. Joseph did so well – and said of course they could – even giving them treats to give Viva while she stayed in a sit. He was beaming after that. He then wanted to go and do another one with a single adult and he did it all by himself!
Joseph is also very alarmed by unexpected loud noises, so I told him before each exercise that i was going to create a loud distraction behind him by throwing something non-breakable close by as he walked away, and I wanted him to continue walking and watch Viva’s reaction. We did this several times, and each time, Joseph jumped a tiny bit, but watched as Viva merely looked back at the noise and then went back into a heel. I explained to Joseph that that is exactly what she and he needed to do – Viva WILL alert if there is something dangerous approaching (which there has not been yet), but Joseph can TRUST that Viva will “have his back”. Viva is very picky about her toys, so there’s a picture of a stuffed lamb Joseph pretended was a little doggie with Viva. Even after checkout and along, two hour session, we got back to the truck, at night, and Joseph was so proud of himself and Viva although he would never admit it, and I told him how proud I was of him. Then he turned around and said, “Can we go back in? I want to get one more thing!” That was AWESOME! We went back, got the item, and Joseph had his head held high. WHAT A TRIUMPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GREAT news from Wounded Warrior, dear Kimberly, who met the new love of her life, SDIT, Kimmy! Kimberly and Kimmy met at Laurel Ridge, and the bond was INSTANT! Kimberly, as intelligent and detail-oriented as she is, already had the training manual memorized. Kimmy was beautifully behaved, and started covering for Kimberly the minute they met, as poor Kimberly was shaking with nerves and excitement from this new part of her life! Kimmy heeled perfectly with Kimberly at the hospital as we walked the halls and I showed her how to use the collar properly, would sit, down, stay, and make incredible eye contact. Even the Medical Director at that Laurel Ridge unit popped her head in to see how wonderful everything was going – and she plans on integrating more Service Dogs into other patient’s treatments! Kimberly was given food, bowls, a leash, two collars, and all medical records for Kimmy. You could just see how much even having the presence of Kimmy on the Wounded Warrior ward brightened up everyone there – and the staff was amazing!
Kimberly and I talked regularly after we spent several hours together going over the basics, and have continued to talk almost every day since then. We had developed a trusting bond for several weeks before this day, and I knew a Service Dog would be perfect for Kimberly’s life at this point. The doctors allowed Kimmy to stay with Kimberly the last days she was there, and she had her own room, where they would snuggle and cuddle and were literally inseparable. Kimmy would let Kimberly know when she needed to go potty, and Kimberly enjoyed taking walks on the grounds of Laurel Ridge with Kimmy. Kimberly would let people pet Kimmy ONLY if they asked politely if they could pet her Service Dog, and if Kimberly felt comfortable with the person – and Kimmy would sit on command and allow the petting and treats.
I called the airline prior to Kimberly’s departure back home to Georgia to ensure that she would have no problems boarding with Kimmy at her 6 am flight! She did say that going through the screening was a hassle, because Kimberly is in a full-leg moveable brace and it was hard to manage everything – but she did say that many people offered her help, and for that, she was very grateful. She did remember to give Kimmy her Benadryl 45 minutes prior to the flight, and Kimmy was excellent – just a little anxious on touch-down. But she never barked or did anything inappropriate! Kimberly has worked with dogs all her life, so she and will continue to be an excellent handler.
Since Kimberly has arrived home and back to civilian life after 29 days at Laurel Ridge, she has said it’s been a bit of a difficult transition – but we both agreed she should take things slow and it will continue to get easier for her. Kimberly’s fiance is currently deployed in Iraq, but feels so much better knowing Kimmy is there to comfort her! One pleasant surprise – Kimberly has a cat named “Nubbins” (due to the fact that she has a nub for a tail) – and SDIT Kimmy and Nubbins are already best friends!! I am SO proud of Kimberly – she made her first trip out alone with Kimmy to the drugstore to get her medications – and it took a lot longer than expected due to the transferring process – but Kimberly said that having Kimmy there made a world of difference. Baby steps! Kimberly still wants to remain active duty – she loves being a soldier – and her command welcomed both she and Kimmy back onto base with open arms and commented continuously on how well-behaved Kimmy was! They are completely supportive of Kimmy being with Kimberly at work once she is settled back in – and for this, I am so grateful.
Kimberly and I will continuously train via video, Skype, email, and phone as they venture out more and more – but I am SO proud of the two of them!!!!!
“I met with my wonderful client Ronnie and his SDIT Roxy this morning. I did an assessment on Roxy and she did AWESOME! She let me touch all parts of her body and mouth with no problems what so ever. She already knows sit, down, stay, leave it, heel, drop it, and hugs. She is so very smart and catches on very fast! We met at a very busy dog park and she was still was able to follow commands. Wounded warrior Ronnie is excellent at training and working with her!
After the assessment, we did a training session. Roxy does heel with the occasional pull which we will continue to work on that. We greeted some dogs along the way and she said hello perfectly, And was able to come when he called to continue the walk. We passed other people, a stroller with a baby and Roxy didn’t pay no mind to them. We practiced walking and randomly stopping to place Roxy in a sit. This way she can get better at sitting on command. They will continue practicing this. He placed Roxy in a down/stay and walked about 30 feet away and called her. She did wonderfully. We talked about how to do the watch me command and the importance of it. This will be the homework. We also talked about what commands he wants Roxy to perform for him. Roxy has already started to alert him to nightmares. (What a very good girl!!) Roxy also has naturally started to do covers. I shook a mason jar full of coins next to Roxy and she didn’t budge, She was not bothered. She went through the agility course at the park and was great at it.
Her focus is on Ronnie, always looking out for him. Their bond is inseparable!!!! We went over and covered so much! It was and is a absolute joy to work with this team!!! Our next session will be in the mall.”
WONDERFUL, POSITIVE TRAINING FOR RONNIE AND ROXY!!!!
From trainer Beverly – she’s been hard at work!! A session with Wounded Warrior DJ, who suffers from PTSD, and his SDIT, Tabitha.
“We met at HEB. and had our first public session there to find treats for Tabitha. She did VERY well. She responded to “leave it” if she was getting too interested in others. She laid down at one point while we were looking at treats and DJ was “amazed” at her “non-reaction” to the people who were going by at that time!
Tabitha is proficient at Sit, Down, Stay (short 1-2 mins) Heel position (Walk, return, at stop), Watch Me, Wait, Leave it, Controlled entry (car, building, inside doors), Controlled Exit (car, building, inside door) and Walking in a Public Location. DJ has been doing great work with Tabitha.
We then went across the street to Lowes and practiced walking beside the shopping cart, and practiced remaining seated when being petted. Tabitha did VERY well on all of these new tasks.
DJ will continue to work with her and get her out more. He has her vest ordered and she should have that by next session and will be able to start taking her out all the time now that he is past the “first time” jitters!”
From trainer Beverly and her son, Andrew, also a trainer, who had the first meeting with Wounded Warrior, SMSgt Robert, who suffers from PTSD.
“We met in Selma for the initial meet and greet with Robert and Crash and Andrew reviewed what Crash had been learning previously – sit, down, watch me, heel, leave it, and short stay. We discussed what he had been eating, his routines and any habits that may require more work. Robert and Crash hit it off right away, and Robert decided he wanted to pick Crash up on Saturday (giving him time to get things for the Temporary Living Facility (TLF) he is staying in.)
On Saturday afternoon, we met in Kingsbury, and Andrew and Bob took Crash to D&D feed to get food, and show Bob what they had been working on in public. The meeting went well and follow up phone calls have shown a few new things to work on (nothing totally unexpected for a major change) – but everyone is adjusting to their new life together. We will be scheduling a training session soon, since Bob is going to be having surgery and we need to make certain that Crash adjusts to the limitations ASAP.”
An update from our trainer in Austin, who is working with Meghan, who unfortunately suffers from PTSD, severe anxiety/depression, and fibromyalgia. She says that most nights when she sleeps, she has severe nightmares and wakes 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 her exhausted, affecting her ability to stand and her general ability to function or concentrate. She will collapse or have to sit down wherever she’s at. Her speech can even become slurred. We hope with the help of SDIT, Precious, she can find some peace and joy, along with balance relief. Our trainer writes:
“Hello Laurie!
I had a morning session with Meghan and Precious. It had been a couple of weeks since we got together. Today, we focused on distractions outside. As we walked outside of her apartment over to the dog park in the complex, I noticed that Precious heels very nicely alongside her. Meghan rarely had to redirect or tell Precious to stay by her side.
We got to the dog park and there was nobody there, which was perfect. So we sat down and waited for Precious to settle into a down, and had Precious make several eye contacts before letting him off leash. After she took him off leash, he continued to stay in a down even though he had the freedom to roam in his environment! As soon as Meghan got up, Precious then wandered off to smell the dog park and do his business. We used this as an opportunity to practice his recalls so he could be immersed in his environment but still listen to Meghan when she calls for him. He did very well considering how much there was to smell around him!
When we headed back to her apartment, I showed Meghan some tips on how to stop Precious from jumping onto the kitchen counter and grabbing food that is left up there. We made some good progress today! My favorite part is how nicely he heels by her side. That is a HUGE help for her stability!”
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.”
Michelle writes:
“I met with Beto and SDiT Osito. It was a good visit. However, Beto’s short term memory is quickly fading. He was not able to remember the things we talked about regarding commands. However, he was able to remember to check his blood sugar when Osito began kissing him and alerted to high sugar levels in excess of 250; scary!!! AWESOME JOB OSITO!!!!!!
We also worked on “leave it”, and by the end of the small session OSITO would not take it unless told he could have the treat!!!!!
Beto’s wife, Maribel, was out of town taking care of family, and was unable to help with the training these last 2 weeks. She reassured me these next two weeks she will help more.
We did get SDIT Osito to start wearing his vest, which came in the mail. Maribel will be doing some alterations so that it doesn’t hurt Osito when he wears his vest. The xs is still too large, and patches are being sewn on.
I still have high hopes for this team, they just need reminders. We will work with things like sticky notes, writing pads, etc. Beto loves his Osito SO very much!”
Upon completion, went to the Allsups that had been giving Shauna and Kilo a hard time, happy to learn they have new staff and welcomed both my SDIT Abby and Kilo without question!
Then Abby felt the need to stand on Kilo on our way back to the house. Silly girl, he’s your friend!!!”
Good job, Shauna, I would let Kilo still alert to those chased covers; he obviously doesn’t feel comfortable around them, Trust Kilo!”