From Jennifer, who has been training with Candace in Ft. Worth.
“I am so thankful for our trainer, Candace, from Ft. Worth. Today was my son’s first day at school with his SD. Candace made sure the day went well, and I am so happy. Thank you SDE for all you have done for my son, our SD, and our family..”
THANK YOU, JENNIFER, FOR THAT BEAUTIFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE CANDACE AS PART OF OUR TEAM.
From our trainer Candace, in Fort Worth. She is working with 7 1/2 year-old Marcus, who suffers from PTSD, night terrors, and extreme anxiety at such a young age. Heather, Marcus’s mother, says that Duke is such a good friend for Marcus son, Marcus. Heather says that Marcus, who was adopted at age 4 1/2, is a bright, compassionate, energetic young man who is being limited by the ghosts of his past. She loves him so much, citing that “I am in awe at the resilience he shows in just getting up and facing the day every morning. He always asks for me to stay with him at night and he says he wishes his dog (an adopted chiweenie) was bigger and could watch over him at night.” What a beautifully supportive family dear Marcus has!
“Marcus’ family is doing a wonderful job with their son’s SDiT, “Duke”. Duke miraculously keeps up with young Marcus, as he is so active and upbeat! We worked on proper leash walking. Heather did most of the walking, showing Marcus how to go about properly himself. Marcus is doing a great job as well, minding his mother and doing his best to work with Duke. We also played a game where Marcus hid under his covers and Duke jumped up to find him. This will help when Marcus has his nightmares and Duke needs to comfort him. Other than that, the family is working on basic training like “come,” “stay,” and “leave it.” Duke is doing very well, and picking up on things quickly. The challenge will be to transfer those training skills over to Marcus and having Duke mind him. This will take time, patience and consistency on the Wilson’s part, especially for Heather. So far, she is remarkable. Keep up the great work!”
REMARKABLE, INDEED. WE ALL LOVE YOU, DEAR MARCUS!!!!
From trainer Candace, in Fort Worth, who is training with 11 year-old Trenton, who suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome and anxiety, and his SDIT, “Priddy”. Trenton’s mother, Jennifer, is very vigilant about training and is very dedicated to the process.
“Trenton’s SDiT, Priddy, is doing incredibly well! We spent an hour going over mock Public Access Test scenarios at a local mall. Priddy is getting great at everything. We went through each command, working a few times through scenarios and talking about any potential “hiccups” and how to handle them. Jennifer wanted a better understanding of what exactly to work on for the test. Their goal is to have Priddy certified by the beginning of October. She is doing great with her young handler, Trenton. He is doing well controlling her, with some verbal cuing from Jennifer. Overall, they are in great shape for the PAT. Go Goodpaster family!”
From our trainer, Candace, in Ft. Worth. She has been juggling an internship while training, so she apologizes that there are not more pictures. But we congratulate her on passing her internship!
“Simba, the Singhania family’s son Vedant’s SDiT, (Vedant has Muscular Dystrophy) has been on a little bit of a training vacation. But, he is doing wonderfully! Today, the family worked on retrievals! We practiced with one of Vedant’s socks, so that Simba can get used to bringing back things that smell like him. I showed them how to turn the command into a game, and their SDiT just had a ball (or sock!) We also addressed his digging behavior, which he has just picked up. It seems that it might be an anxiety issue when he digs. Also, it seems that the family were accidentally reinforcing that behavior by engaging him in a game of chase once they caught him digging. We are still working on this.
Vedant got a new electric scooter, so we practiced walking Simba with the scooter. He wasn’t scared, nor did he bark at it! They need to practice walking with Simba and the scooter outside, but it was too hot at the time I was there to do this. Simba is a dark dog and just doesn’t like the sun so much. He has quite a personality! There was a lot of review that happened to go over his basic and advanced training techniques. Simba is still so young and has come such a long way. He will be a great companion for young Vedant. The Singhania family is doing great with him!”
From our trainer in Ft. Worth, Candace! She is working with wonderful mom, Heather, and her 7 1/2 year-old son, Marcus. Heather writes that Marcus suffers from PTSD and anxiety as a result of severe abuse and neglect he suffered prior to our adoption when he was 4 1/2. PTSD disrupts his life on a daily basis. He is a bright, compassionate, energetic young man who is being limited by the ghosts of his past. Poor Marcus’ PTSD seems to be most intense at school. The hustle and bustle of school can be overwhelming to him. His teacher reports a lot of hyper-vigilance behaviors that interfere with his ability to focus in class. He is constantly on the lookout for trouble and has to sit in a spot where he can see the whole classroom. . Often, he is afraid of sleeping in his room by himself because he has frequent nightmares / night terrors. His mother is completely committed to helping Marcus with the aid of a Service Dog.
“We’d like to give a warm welcome to Heather and her son Marcus! They just added Duke to the family and are beginning their journey. The only thing I did with Ms. Wilson this session is help assess the dogs, providing pros and cons. Duke really took to Marcus. They are both in the higher energy realm, so it looks like they will be great buddies! More than that, Duke will be a wonderful companion for Marcus. Ms. Wilson reports that they are doing well with leash training, but mostly they are working on the two bonding. They will start working on the easier commands sit and down, but more than that, play! It’s just wonderful to see Marcus happy! Here are some pictures of the two Marcus and Duke the day after they brought him home. Looks like a great match to me!!”
From our dear client, Donna, with SD, Dennie!!! Donna writes:
“Last weekend I was admitted to the hospital for a touch of pneumonia. As you can see from the attached picture, Dennie is once again right there in bed me and doesn’t leave my side. As I explained in my previous email, Dennie can tell when my blood sugar is dropping. This is an added bonus as Dennie is my mobility SD. Don’t know what I would do without her.”
WHAT LOVE AND DEVOTION!!!!
There is nothing, nothing more gratifying for SD trainers to hear that clients have healed and have been inspired by their own healing that they want to pass it on to others!!! I received this wonderful message from my the very first Mastiff I trained with his dad, affectionately called “Big John” because he is so tall!! He picked the perfect breed because of his mobility issues and he knew he would need a large dog to help. I trained with John and SD Jachin long ago – and John was one of the kindest, most dedicated, and hard-working young man I have ever known. Hearing from him after all this time, and hearing that he now wants to train Jachin to do Therapy Work to help others is the most beautiful thing! I can’t wait to see him again – his job moved him way up north – but now he is back in Dallas!! John wrote:
“Laurie – I’m so excited to see more Mastiffs becoming Service Dogs!!!! They are such a great breed! Jachin is doing so well. Thank you again for helping us while he was younger. I still read all your posts and see more Mastiffs are coming to you. I am in Dallas now and if anyone is need of a volunteer, Jachin and I are more than happy to volunteer for kids or Wounded Warriors! Hope you are well!!!”
JOHN, I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU AND JACHIN – AND YOUR CONTINUED SELFLESSNESS AND CARE FOR OTHERS! YES – JACHIN WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY LOVE FOR MASTIFFS – AND NOW I WANT AS MANY AS I CAN TO TRAIN! HECK – IF I DIDN’T HAVE FOUR DOGS ALREADY, I’D HAVE A HOUSEHOLD FULL OF THEM!!!! CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN AND TRAIN JACHIN FOR THERAPY WORK – YOU BOTH WILL BE WONDERFUL AT IT!!
Apologies for the lack of pictures…I need to get a spare battery for the phone!
To begin the session, we reviewed his basic commands: sit, down, stay, leave it, etc. Magnus is coming along nicely in the few weeks that they’ve been working together. They tried out a head harness that helped with the pulling that little Magnus had picked up. We also did a mini-workout with some “puppy push-ups” and “puppy burpees,” which are just variations of “sit,” “down,” and “stand.” I had them work on this to focus on Magnus’ precision and response time. He has quite a personality, but he is a very bright pup! I gave the family some homework to work on until I was able to meet with them the following week. Great job, Staley and Magnus!
An update from our trainer Candace, in Ft. Worth, who is working with new client, Ben! Ben is an eight year old boy that has been through so much in his young life. As a result, this beautiful young child has autism, PTSD, and anxiety that causes him to get very nervous when in public. His adoring parents write that “Ben is a sweet heart that God made special.” How lucky Ben is to be a part of such a beautiful family!
Candace writes:
“Ben’s mom, Lacey, just adopted this beautiful 6 month old girl to be Ben’s shadow/helper/friend. They are already attached at the haunches! Ben hasn’t decided on a name for this sweet girl just yet, but he is leaning towards Lucy, I think. We shall find out shortly. Everyone give this family a warm welcome as they start their journey on the hard but rewarding road of Service Dog training and ownership!”
A wonderful update from Jennifer, mom to 11 year-old Trenton, who has Tourette’s Syndrome. They have been training with Candace in Dallas. Jennifer writes:“Trenton’s life is enriched beyond all expectations because of Priddy. They went to Boy Scout camp for a week in Oklahoma. Trent ended up outside the tent somehow one morning, and Priddy stayed right there. Trent made sure Priddy saluted for the evening taking down of the flag because she’s “a beagle scout.”
SO HAPPY FOR YOU, TRENTON AND PRIDDY! AMAZING PICTURES! WONDERFUL TRAINING, CANDACE!
