Category Archives: San Antonio

Anxiety, Depression, Mobility, San Antonio, Texas

Alex, and his SDIT, Rottweiler “Meadow”

From our super trainer, Beverli, who is working with Client Alex, and his SDIT, Rottweiler “Meadow”. Alex has been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, spondylitis, sclerosis, depression, and anxiety. He has a permanent brace that he has to wear, and has to walk with a cane or a walker; sometimes when the pain is too much, he has to use a wheelchair. He needs help with balance and mobility and help with picking up items from the ground when he drops them.

Beverli writes:

“On our third session, we covered basic obedience; “sit”, “sit/stay”, “down/stay” (both while Alex was in sight and out of sight), and restaurant etiquette. We also walked through the mall, going into several stores and ate lunch in this very crowded environment. Meadow showed excellent improvement in all areas, especially “watch me”. She broke her “down/stay” while Alex was out of sight only a few times, so they will be working on that. Overall, both Alex and Meadow did a fantastic job in this very distractible environment.

Their homework is to continue working on the slow heel that Alex needs, working on staying under the table at all times while eating, and teaching “fetch” and “give” to help with object pick up for Alex.”

Asperger's, San Antonio, Texas

Veronica and Isaiah and their SDIT, “Shaggy!”

From our excellent trainer, Beverli, who is working with Veronica and her son, Isaiah, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, and their SDIT, “Shaggy!” This was their second training session.
Beverli writes:

“We had our second training session today at Lowe’s. We specifically trained Shaggy’s now quick response to “sit, stay, down” from a walking position. We also worked on extended “down/stay” and “sit/stay” for 6ft+ (I like to challenge the team to do beyond what is necessary for the test). Shaggy’s heeling has made great improvement, as well as his “leave it”.

We also addressed other Service Dog tasks, such as calming Isaiah when he gets overstimulated in public, using the command “check your boy” when he started to get overwhelmed.

Areas that need to be addressed are mother Veronica’s ability to be Shaggy’s leader. She is very soft-spoken, so we will continue to work on it.

Other homework that was given for the next session was: “Stay” while out of sight, “sit while on a walk at random”, and “down on walk, at random”.

Anxiety, Epilepsy, Military, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior Ryan, and his SDIT, “Shade”

From our trainer, Beverly, who is working with Wounded Warrior Ryan, and his SDIT, “Shade”. Ryan suffers from epilepsy and anxiety.

Beverly writes:

” This was the first appointment with Ryan and his new pup “Shade.” Shade is a very intelligent black lab who is bonding well with Ryan and fitting nicely into his family. His previous pup wouldn’t settle down and was causing more stress, so she was re-homed prior to him obtaining his new pup.

We worked on “Sit, Down, Watch Me and Leave it”. Shade picked up on all of them very quickly and did well during the session. Ryan will work in several short sessions throughout the day, since Shade is young (6 months) and he is a student (online) and home with her most of the day.

Since Shade is showing high intelligence and bonding well with Ryan, I believe she will quickly pick up on any chemical changes and will be easy to train to alert to seizures or anything else we ask of her. They make a great team!

UPDATE: They’ve worked together for 2 weeks on the above skills and Ryan says Shade is doing very well. We will meet on Wednesday for the next session to work on “heel, wait and stay”. I’m excited to see the progress and watch Shade and Ryan become a fantastic SD team!

PTSD, San Antonio, TBI, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior Donny and SDiT Max

Laurie had a super session with Wounded Warrior, Donny, and his SDIT, Max!!! Max is the most amazing Sharpei mix you could imagine, initially rescued by Cherry Jenkins of In Dog We Trust. Donny suffers from a TBI and PTSD, but takes Max everywhere with him – they have such a strong bond that if Donny even goes outside for 10 minutes to work, Max will just watch him out the window and whine a little bit until he is reunited with Donny!

Laurie writes:

Our first session was at Donny’s home, and Max was already well-trained by Donny using the training manual. This time, we met at Petsmart in New Braunfels, and went through several different commands. Max was perfect, and Donny was so at ease with him! Max is always watching Donny and they have a beautiful bond. We did several meet and greets with adults and children while Max stayed in a perfect sit, met other dogs with whom Max got along easily, and even tied him to the shopping cart with no problems! Max heels beautifully. He always comes when called. We practiced sit/stays, down/stays, and squeezed all kinds of squeaky toys to see which frequencies really got Max’s head to perk up! It was so much fun! Max was not distracted by anything or anyone around him. Donny has done such a wonderful job training beautiful Max. Max received so many compliments from both staff and customers about how well-behaved he was! Donny always gives him lots of praise and love – and they snuggle up together at home and Max sleeps right next to Donny. Next trip – Walmart at a very busy time!!!!!!

Anxiety, Fibromyalgia, San Antonio, Texas

Rhonda and SDiT Tank

Laurie had the most incredible first meeting with new client, Rhonda, and her SDIT, “Tank”. Rhonda and Laurie had tried getting together for a very long time for training, and finally, we had our first session.

Laurie writes:

Rhonda suffers from several medical conditions, including a heart condition with a pacemaker due to cardiomyopathy. She often has pain and some anxiety, but her AMAZING Staffordshire Terrier, Tank, is SO bonded with her, that he responds to her whenever she feels unwell physically or emotionally. When I met Rhonda, it was like meeting someone you have known all your life. She is absolutely beautiful both inside and out. Rhonda has such a passion for animals – especially those in shelters and rescues – and although she cannot work due to her medical condition, she spends all the energy she can helping out dogs and cats in need with local rescues and raising truly amazing children as a single mother. She just has one of those “auras” about her that is filled with light and love.

When I arrived, I was greeted by both Rhonda and Tank. Rhonda and I talked for quite some time, and we went through the basic commands with Tank – she had taught them all to Tank herself!! Tank, with his beautiful bright green eyes and soft coat knew “sit”, “down”, “controlled load and unload”, “heel”, “sit/stay”, “down/stay”, “come” (he will need a bit of work on that as Rhonda has quite a bit of land and when Tank runs, he RUNS!), “watch me”, let me pet him all over, put my hand in his mouth, is wonderful with children, other dogs, their cat, and never met a stranger he didn’t love! But he loves Rhonda so very much. It will only take a couple more sessions before Tank complete his Public Access Test. He already has a beautiful vest, with a pouch indicating all of Rhonda’s medical information clipped to it.

I cannot wait for our next session together, and I know Rhonda and I have already formed a friendship that I hope lasts for a very, very long time!

Mobility, San Antonio, Texas

Noelle and SDiT Hazel

From our trainer, Brenda, who is working with client Noelle. She writes the following:

“We worked on sit/stay/come, and down/stay. I had her start with her SDIT, Hazel, at one end of the house and had her repeat sit, stay, and come commands, while trying to get further away from her and getting her to stay longer. By the time we were done with that, Noelle could get several feet away from Hazel, who would stay until she gave her the come command. We then worked again on getting her to “down” and stay in a “relaxed” pose without bouncing right back up. We praised Hazel with petting and words of encouragement for staying. By the time I left, Hazel was lying down and staying put while we talked. Noelle is going to save a can filled with noisy items to shake to help with getting Hazel’s attention back, and will keep following up with what we were working on.

At our next session, we started off outside taking a walk so I could see how Hazel was heeling with Noelle in and out of her wheelchair. Hazel was pulling her a little and trying to veer off, so I advised Noelle to keep Hazel very close to her and to tell her No Hazel, heel, and pull her back to the correct position. I also had her stop and tell Hazel to sit when she wanted to, which she did well. Hazel was getting distracted easily by many things outside; bugs, leaves falling, shadows moving. When we took a break while Noelle’s mom got her wheelchair, I had Noelle give Hazel the down and stay commands, but Hazel kept jumping right back up and wouldn’t get into a relaxed pose with the distractions, so I thought it best we work on that and getting Hazel to be focused on Noelle. When we would get her to lay down, I would have Noelle pet/praise Hazel to try and get her relaxed. If Hazel would bounce back up right away and then get distracted, I had Noelle use the can to get her attention, give her the “watch me” command, then repeat the down/stay. It took a little bit of work, but then Hazel FINALLY got it, and by the time I left, Hazel was lying at Noelle’s feet, in a completely relaxed pose, even when one of her parents would come walking up to us with a purposeful distraction! Noelle was to split up working with her inside and outside to get her use to minding with distractions.

Trainer Brenda, Noelle and Hazel

Hazel can be a tough cookie, but I advised Noelle to be even tougher! Once she gives Hazel a command, she MUST follow through and make Hazel do it, no matter how long it takes, or Hazel will figure out that she doesn’t really need to mind.

Military, Panic Attack, San Antonio, TBI, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior, James and Service Dog, Sadie

Laurie had an amazing training session with Wounded Warrior, James, who was paired with Service Dog, Sadie. James said Sadie has fit into their family perfectly. He takes her to work at San Antonio Military Medical Center every day, and Sadie is an absolute wonder for all the patients he cares for. James also gets to take long breaks with Sadie to take her for walks on the base grounds when his anxiety gets too high. So far, James has only been working with Sadie, who knows all commands, at home and at work. Sadie sleeps with James and consistently wakes him from his night terrors. Sadie also alerts James and his wife if their child is crying or not sleeping well!

Laurie writes:

We had our first public training session at Petsmart. James’ PTSD and TBI are so severe that he has not been able to go to public places other than work without his wife and Sadie with him. So this was an extreme challenge for him. When I met James outside of Petsmart, he was sitting with Sadie in a cover, already in a full-blown panic attack – sweating, feeling lightheaded, etc. I stayed with them outside for quite some time, and explained to him that this panic attack is absolutely normal and expected for someone with his conditions. I helped him do some deep-breathing exercises, had him focus on Sadie and pet her until he had calmed down a bit. He said he felt like leaving, but he didn’t want to give up. I was so proud of him! I promised him that we would go very slowly in Petsmart, and that any time he started to panic, we would step to a quiet area so that he could breath and focus on Sadie, letting her know he needed her.

We entered Petsmart slowly, with Sadie waiting at the door until James told her to “go through”. Then we walked around the edges of Petsmart slowly, letting James get comfortable with the amount of people and dogs there. Luckily, it wasn’t very crowded, and James said that that helped. He kept saying he was still anxious, but I reminded him that I was right beside him, and Sadie, who is always eying her surroundings, would always alert James if there were anything he should worry about. One huge trigger for James is children, due to his past experiences in battle. He loves them, and wants to conquer this fear he gets because he immediately goes into a flashback. The first thing we did was make an appointment for Sadie to get a furminator treatment for her coat. I had James come into the small grooming area, which was crowded, and let him stand in the corner with Sadie in a front cover while I made the appointment for him. I kept checking with him to see if he was OK with a thumb’s up, and he did great.

Next, we just started going up and down the aisles slowly, found a collar where Sadie stayed in a perfect heel, and practiced just walking and having James walk by people and other dogs calmly. When people would ask if they could pet the dog, James actually said absolutely, put Sadie in a “sit/stay”, and James and Sadie did perfectly! The more we walked and talked, the calmer you could see James becoming. We did several meet and greets with other dogs, and Sadie was a perfect lady even with the dogs that would bark or jump. James was so proud of her!! We picked out some items for Sadie, looked at the birds and fish, and actually, James was able to do a meet and greet with a child! He was beaming after accomplishing that.

James and I talked about how things were going at home, because I noticed that while Sadie performed perfectly, and responded so wonderfully when James would squat down and give her love, their seemed to be a bit of distance between them. So I asked James about what happens when he gets home from work and is frustrated or angry about something. He said he usually goes out onto the back porch alone and sits there, leaving Sadie inside, because he doesn’t want Sadie to get upset. I explained to him that it was Sadie’s JOB to be there during those difficult times. She needs to see him when he is feeling at his worst – Sadie can handle that – because that it what creates the bond. He agreed to make sure just he and Sadie spend that time together alone, so that Sadie can feel his moods and comfort him. Sometimes, James also said that he retreats to his room when he is feeling bad, so that he doesn’t take it out on his family. I asked him if he takes Sadie in there with him every time. He again said no, because he didn’t want to upset Sadie. We talked a long time about why it is desperately important that he include Sadie when he feels this way, because that is her job, and she needs to know that James needs her during those difficult moments and will provide comfort. This is so essential to the bonding.

James understood, and said he would do this, instead of letting Sadie just be in another room with his wife and child and their puppy, Colby (who loves to play with Sadie).

When we finally left Petsmart, I mentioned to James that he had survived an entire hour in Petsmart and DID IT!!!! I hugged him and told him how proud I was that he did it. He was proud, too!!!!! I told him some jokes when we left and although he said he would sit in his car a bit to decompress, I reminded him to focus on Sadie and give her love and treats!!!!

Service Dog Express's photo.

 

Anxiety, Experience, Medical Alert, Military, Mobility, Navy, Panic Attack, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Denise and SDiT Sandy

From our trainer, Brenda, who is a paraplegic in a wheelchair and specializes in working with our other clients in wheelchairs, who has been working with Denise and her SDIT, Sandy!

Brenda writes:

“After several training sessions, I went through a mock Public Access Test to show me that Sandy was ready for her formal test. We did the following:

1) Sandy “loaded” onto the bus perfectly. I had also observed her loading into Denise’s provider’s truck Friday without hesitation.
2) Sandy “unloaded” off the bus perfectly.
3) Denise demonstrated “sit” and “stay” without a problem. Sandy did not pay attention to the food on the floor at McDonald’s and has never had an issue at home when Denise eats. We did not go to the grocery store, but I have seen in the past that Sandy has no issues with shopping carts in the store. Denise does not want anyone petting Sandy.
4) Denise demonstrated “down” with little problem. At 1st, Sandy was very excited and wasn’t focused, but Denise quickly got her full attention when she brought out the can of Pet Corrector! Sandy then laid down right away and stayed. Sandy laid right down in McDonald’s, too, and did not bother with food that was already on the floor. She did not break the down position when people walked by.
5) Denise and Sandy went through the door at her apartment and at McDonald’s with Sandy heeling just in front of her chair, out of the way of it and not too far ahead. Sandy also demonstrated that she knows her directions.
6) When we were going to and from the bus stop and restaurant, I observed that Sandy heeled perfectly next to Denise’s chair (or just in front of as needed), and there was slack in the leash so I know she wasn’t pulling. Traffic and noise do not bother Sandy. She stops when Denise stops.
7) Sandy executed “go through” perfectly and waits for Denise once she is through.
8) Sandy stays right next to Denise at all times.
9 & 10) For safety reasons, I did not have her demonstrate these; I feel more comfortable waiting to do these with someone who can walk just in case things go wrong. However, Denise told me of a situation last week where when they were getting dropped off by ViaTrans. Sandy saw a cat when the door opened, and Denise did not have good hold of the leash. Sandy took off after the cat and Denise said “NO Sandy! Come back here!” Sandy stopped right away and went back to Denise. Sandy did the “sit/stay/come” combo perfectly in the house.
11) I have done this in the past without Sandy even flinching, and she wasn’t distracted by noise or people on our outing today – so I didn’t drop anything. It also wasn’t feasible to do this rolling on the sidewalk. We only went to McDonald’s and not HEB too, as this would have been too much for Denise today and I didn’t want to be redundant on things I know that Sandy is perfect with and will pass on her official test.

I did do some wheelchair troubleshooting. There was an issue as far as the bus one time; Sandy did not have a place to sit in front of Denise’s chair, out of the aisle. I saw this in the past, and had been thinking of what we could do. I suggested that Denise make sure her chair was as far back as possible and to swing out the leg rest that was on the window side, put her foot on the floor to give Sandy more room to sit for the ride, and also to swing out the leg rest on the aisle side like a door when Sandy gets in and out to make it easier on her. Denise didn’t even know that her leg rests COULD swing out and I’m not sure that you would have known either or how to do it. Sandy was still hesitant to get into that spot, but I think it’s just from her past experience of having no room and being uncomfortable, so I advised Denise to be ready with treats to coax her there in the future until Sandy catches on that it is easier and she now has more room to sit comfortably. I made it clear to Denise that I am still here for her if she has problems and to call me so I can do more troubleshooting. I believe that once Sandy realizes that adjustments have been made and she has a big enough spot to sit every time, Sandy will go right into her spot without hesitation and it will be a faster process!

They are ready for their Public Access Test next session!

Experience, San Antonio, Texas

Lori and her Boston Terrier, Abbie

Laurie had a wonderful training session with Lori and her Boston Terrier, Abbie! They had their first session in public at Petsmart.

Lori was in a lot of pain from her medical issues, but she was a trooper and did a super job! Abbie unloaded perfectly, waited at the doors before entering, went up and down all the aisles and stayed in a perfect “heel” position, and never barked even though other dogs barked passing by, and did a wonderful job at staying in a heel when Lori dropped the leash! Abbie was in perfect position when we got the shopping cart, responded to “leave it” when she sniffed too much, and kept her focus on Lori. We did several meet and greets with adults and children, and Abbie was delightful. She loves people! There were some slightly “growly” dogs there, but we asked and did meet and greets with the dogs, and with careful redirection, the dogs were able to do the proper introductions to each other with the usual “hi, can I sniff you to get to know you?” Abbie and Lori and I also practiced sit/stays and down/stays in the back, and Abbie was great. She needs a bit more work on her down/stay, but other than that, this team is truly amazing. When Lori is feeling anxious or in pain, she will ask Abbie for hugs, and Abbie will either jump in her lab if Lori is sitting and hug her with her little legs and kiss her face, or will do it when Lori bends down. They have an amazing, loving bond.

Anxiety, Mobility, San Antonio, Texas

YAY TO NETTE AND SD ELLA

YAY TO NETTE AND HER NOW SERVICE DOG, ELLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nette, who has had a stroke due to an inherited condition and has anxiety and mobility issues, has done AMAZING work with Ella! Laurie remembers first meeting them many months ago, and Ella was just a huge ball of all over the place energy. Well, not anymore! Even though she is only 1 ½ and a Labrador, Nette and Ella and Laurie have trained continuously in many different places, and Ella did every command perfectly during our Public Access Test (PAT) at Bass Pro Shop! (the workers there are so used to Laurie bringing dogs in there for the PAT, they know what parts of the test they will be asked to participate in!) Ella unloaded, waited in a perfect sit until Letty was ready, did a wonderful controlled entry, always stayed in heel position, kept her focus on Nette despite all the many distractions at the Shop, we did turns and fast-pace and slow-paced walking, did steps one at a time (step-wait, step-wait) because Nette has difficulty on steps, rode in the elevator where Nette did the proper holding of the door to let Nette go in and out first, met children (Ella LOVES children – and especially loved a little 2 year-old whose parents agreed to the meet and greet and whose name was also Ella!), met adult strangers, did controlled exits, controlled load into vehicle – everything. We even could put her favorite treats on her paw and she would “leave it” until Nette gave her the command that it was ok. Ella heeled perfectly next to a shopping cart, let me take her and walk with her (looking back to make sure “mom” was following and ok), did not react to any loud distractions, etc. She received SO many compliments from people who came up and said “I wish my Labrador could act like your dog!” She did a perfect down/stay, and sit/stay – even when Nette disappeared out of sight a bit still saying the command stay!

Although we have had many training sessions, Laurie has to give all the credit to Nette, who is extremely intelligent and compassionate and consistently has been training with Nette at home and in public. She has done an amazing job, and Laurie is SO proud of her. They have developed a friendship that will last for life!!

Of course, Ella received tons of praise when she was done, and you could tell Ella knew she did a great job. She’s got a little bit of sassiness to her that makes her all the more adorable! She was rewarded with her favorite treat by Nette afterward – a vanilla ice cream cone!