Happy 4th Anniversary Shilo!

Today Makes 4 years to the day that Shilo and I became partners though Summit Assistance Dogs.
In the past four years Shilo and I have:

• Lived in 2 apartments
• Worked three jobs
• Taken dozens of Road trips
• Gone on 8 first dates
• Had a hand in raising 13 puppies
• Dated and broken up with one boyfriend
• Experience Survived a the  of my first SD together death together
• Flown together
• Traveled to DC and advocated on Capital Hill together taking 10 meeting with representatives and Senators
• Gone Sailing for the first time together

I'm sure there's more but those are the highlights standing out right now! Stay tuned for a picture slide show!
Yours in Canine Partnership,
Melissa and SD Shilo, Summit Assistance Dog

Say What? Maintaince Training for Service Dogs

Anniversaries and follow-up visits have a way of showing you how far you have come along with anything you may have let side;however, inadvertently.   We received high praise from Wendy at Summit for how well our public access manners and tasks have been maintained, though, I admitted that the emergency phone retrieve has gotten dropped since we no longer have a land line. I really must work on getting the cue back in use with my cell phone since it is my life and safety on the line. As  teams move through life it is common for things to slip or for things to get dropped because handlers and dogs begin to engage in anticipatory learning where in they put together strings of actions/cues and will perform behaviors without waiting to be asked. Many human partners think this predictive behavior is wonderful, and in some instances it is. However, I have come the conclusion that these short cuts if allowed to develop freely and without thought to possible hazards are very dangerous to our canine partners.

Example1: You and your dog are riding the lift transport service and  your service dog cannot ride the lift with you, so they must wait in the van until you can collect them at the front door. The dog anticipating you to call them begins to come out the door before being called and before you are there to collect them. I will leave the horrid possibilities to your own imagination.

Example 2: Your service dog faithfully retrieves everything you drop and has done this for you so often that the dog comes running whenever it see or hears anything hit the floor in your vicinity.  While this may not seem like a big deal and even helpful, what if you drop something glass and it shatters or the lid goes flying off your med bottle since you where trying to get the lid on when you dropped it.

Now, anticipatory learning does have a place in a service dog partnership, but we humans must be careful about the behavior chains that develop and nip ones that could be dangerous to us and/or our canine partners in the bud before they become habits that are exceeding difficult to break. This is where maintenance training takes center stage. If you regularly practice all your dogs behaviors from basic obedience to elaborate chained behaviors such as tugging open a door or get help, you are much more likely to prevent these short cuts from developing in the first place. You will also want to correct your dog for "blowing" cues (as I and many others call it) straight off by sending them back to the start and having them do it correctly. For dogs having a no reward marker or a cue reminder can help them know when they are about to make a mistake and give them a chance to change their mind before making the mistake.

How do you know if a Behavior needs brushing up?

• You (or someone in your circle) can't remember the last time you used a particular cue
• The dog's response to a cue has become slow or sloppy
• The cue is essential for you/your dogs safety (i.e. come, emergency down, get help, waiting at open doors)
• The dog seems to have stopped paying attention to a given cue altogether (Tip: did you inadvertently change the cue. It happens all the time. It is really easy to change a cue in just a few repetitions of the pattern New Cue + Old Cue= Behavior for the dog to go "oh this =that" and the old cue is no longer needed. Unfortunately, it can take us humans a bit to figure out what is the cue the dog is now responding to)
• You need a particular cue to be reinforced so that you can build a new behavior with it.

Finding Time for Maintenance Training

People often claim they don't do something because they think that it needs a lot of time. The amount of time needed to maintain given depends on several factors: how often it is used and actively reinforced/rewarded, if the dog finds to behavior itself rewarding, and how complicated/difficult the behavior is, and the tendency of the dog in question to assume that a behavior that hasn't been used/reinforced in a certain period of time is just taking up memory needlessly. The more simple, easy to perform and frequently used behaviors can be easily maintained in a few short repetitions,the more complicated the behavior the more you may need to make a specific effort to practice it, especially if it is not something you need the dog to do on a regular basis (say at least a couple of times a week) like getting help or dialing 9-1-1 on speed dial.

• Before you give your dog anything or answer a request as for a behavior any behavior the dog knows or is working on will due
• While waiting in line, for the bus or whatever
• When your dog seems bored to you
• During your lunch, coffee or other breaks in the day
• When you need a distraction
• During the course of normal day, give cues as you go along to keep your dog engaged
• As a new section to your daily fitness routine. Spice it up for both you and your dog.

Anniversary: Two Year Follow-Up

Shiloh and I have been a team for two years now and as a part of maintaining the health, safety, and working standards that I agreed to when Summit matched Shiloh and I I traveled to Anacortes, WA to complete a two year follow up and Public Access Test. Having owner trained Bastien, my first service dog, I wasn't sure what  to expect and I tend to be overly perfectionist about things really important to me with my dogs being beyond description a lot of the time with concern to their importance in my life. Also, since it is my job to maintain Shiloh in every manner at least to the level she was when Summit agreed that we were a team, if not better in my view; so I was very nervous to see what questions they would have and what they would think of us 18 months after they last saw us!
Wendy asked question about Shiloh health, responsiveness, what I thought of her training, if she had any behavior or training problem I was concerned about/needed help with, and anything I thought Summit could do to improve the training of future dogs based on my experiences with Shiloh. Then we were of to town to strut our stuff in the public access test. Besides the general test Shiloh also demonstrated two of her tasks wheelchair pulling and retrieving dropped items. We passed with flying colors!

Anniversary: Two Years, A Wonderous Journey

This October 17th marks two years that Shiloh and I have been a team living life and all its surprises together! In the last two years we have gone from complete strangers to each others rocks of Gibraltar. Shiloh and I have done so many things together that it is hard for me to list them all on the greatest hits parade we have:

• Moved twice
• Attended weddings, birthdays and baby showers
• Interviewed for and gotten jobs
• Survived my wisdom teeth getting pulled
• Met Galaxy from Greatest American dog (I have picture here somewhere...)

Shiloh continues to amazed me with her steady, sweet countenance and her drive to work. She recently showed me that she finally has made sense of what I have been trying in my completely inept, bungling human way to show her how she can help with my balance issues during a recent return trip to Newport (read about our fun at the beach in the past) where she would place herself either beside, in front, or behind depending on what point in the stairs I was at and how she understood she could best assist me. With her beside me I could have one hand pulling myself up with the railing and the other holding onto Shiloh's backpack handle for a little forward momentum (I tend to fall backward when I fall, but it really does take much to keep me on my feet and balanced).




Finally, I wish to thank everyone who made Shiloh and I possible:
-The Staff and Volunteers of Summit Assistance Dogs
-Shiloh's Trainer Sue Meinzinger (known affectionately around here as Aunty Sue)
-My cousin April for her $100 Donation
-My longtime friend Wayne Terry for his donation of a Large Dog Crate ($100 value)
-Shelley Maynard,Owner of Pewter Rabbit Antiques for her $25 Donation
-Kathleen Ison for her $10 donation
-Olivia Emilia and Rob Harden for their $50 donation
-My longtime friend Anne Hensley for her $50 donation in memeroy of her first SD Andrew
-My longtime friends Pam and Loc Reader for their $100 donation
-My former co-workers at Pierce County Deparment of Emergency Management for their $155 donation.
-My Aunt and Uncle, Steven and Marie McDonald for their $100
-My college internship supervisor Mr. Jim Stevenson and family for their $100
-My Unce Dale McDonald for his $300 donation
-My Grandmother Mary Ellen for her $200
-My parents for their $600 donation to Summit and their love and support through out the entire process
-My best friends Leslie Weilbacher and Katie Berger for all their love, support and perspective!

Book Review: Bridging Differences within the Disability Community: The Assistance Dog Movement

Ed Eames, Co-Founder of the International Association  Assistance Dog Partners wrote Bridging Differences within the Disability Community: The Assistance Dog Movement in 2001. This succinct article provides a history of the service dog movement,culture, and community in the USA. Ever wonder when guide dogs became a reality in the US, How IAADP came to be, or what the estimated number of service dog partners are in the US? This article will answer these questions and more. As the Disability Community celebrates the 20th anniversary of the ADA , it is important to the ADA defined the term service animal on a federal level.

Anniversary: Celebrating One Year as a Team

Today Shiloh and I are celebrating one year as a partnered service dog team! We have come a long way in that year. I must admit this year has been one wrought with change, learning, fun, change, and frustration on both ends from time to time.

It really has taken Shiloh and I this entire time to really develop a shared languages and a set of share experiences that we can use to communicate with and understand one and other.
"I met this sweet girl for the first time while I was attending the Puget Sound Assistance Dog Club's Second Annual Conference. Sue was presenting a seminar of temperament testing and service dog candidate select and had chosen to bring along this little shepherd mix as an example of all the things they look for in a service dog candidate. From the minute I saw her I was impressed with this dog's calm, quiet, sweet, yet attentive nature. I even volunteered to be a part of the demonstration, just so I could have a chance to interact with her one on one. She never once showed me anything but what a lovely, soft girl she was." Read more from this post http://servicedogsawayoflife.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-dog-news.html.

"Our relationship is still very new and a shepherd's loyalties run deep. If Sue has been working with her or leaves and comes back Shiloh still only has eyes for Sue at this point, but there is a glimmer of a relationship already. She is happy to see me, works willingly, and after a bit of time can focus completely on me." Read more from this post http://servicedogsawayoflife.blogspot.com/2008/09/round-oneteam-training.html

"Almost once a day I ask her to do something with a leftover cue from my first service dog, Bastien. She looks at me like "I have no idea what you want" and sometimes takes a guess." Read more from this post http://servicedogsawayoflife.blogspot.com/2008/11/shilo-and-melissa-our-first-month.html.


You can read more about:

• The process of getting a service dog and my process with Shiloh here: http://servicedogsawayoflife.blogspot.com/search/label/Summit

• My life with Shiloh here: http://servicedogsawayoflife.blogspot.com/search/label/Shilo and here http://servicedogsawayoflife.blogspot.com/search/label/Shiloh.

Finally, I wish to thank everyone who made Shiloh and I possible:
-The Staff and Volunteers of Summit Assistance Dogs
-Shiloh's Trainer Sue Meinzinger (known affectionately around here as Aunty Sue)
-My cousin April for her $100 Donation
-My longtime friend Wayne Terry for his donation of a Large Dog Crate ($100 value)
-Shelley Maynard,Owner of Pewter Rabbit Antiques for her $25 Donation
-Kathleen Ison for her $10 donation
-Olivia Emilia and Rob Harden for their $50 donation
-My longtime friend Anne Hensley for her $50 donation in memeroy of her first SD Andrew
-My longtime friends Pam and Loc Reader for their $100 donation
-My former co-workers at Pierce County Deparment of Emergency Management for their $155 donation.
-My Aunt and Uncle, Steven and Marie McDonald for their $100
-My college internship supervisor Mr. Jim Stevenson and family for their $100
-My Unce Dale McDonald for his $300 donation
-My Grandmother Mary Ellen for her $200
-My parents for their $600 donation to Summit and their love and support through out the entire process
-My best friends Leslie Weilbacher and Katie Berger for all their love, support and perspective!

Anniversary: Team Training Starts

Today is October 11, 2009. A year ago, today, I awoke to begin seven days of training with a dog I hoped would become my next service dog. It was even more uncertain than these trips  usually areas the week before I had lost my job of four years. I needed to spend a week bonding and working with a new dog and I didn't even have financial stability. Stressful would be an extreme understatement. I felt I had to go, after all, who knew when they would have a dog they felt would be suitable for me again. So, despite all this uncertainty I packed my bags and head to the first day  of my team training with Shiloh. I had teats,my clicker, my laptop, my camera, and my leash. Come what may I had decided to put myself into the process full out. Read about this day:

Team Training: Round Two Day One

One Year Anniversary of My Blog and a Contest

Today marks the one year of Service Dogs: A Way of Life and the 140th entry on this Blog! I want to thank all who read faithfully, post thoughtful comments, and link to my blog. I want this blog to be of service: a place of learning, sharing and community to all those involved with service dogs in anyway.
I thought I would share a little about what I know about my readers over the past year thanks to Google Analytics:

1. You come from all over the globe representing more than 40 countries including such far off locals as Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, and South Africa.
2. Over the past year I have had nearly 2,000 Visitors (and that's not counting repeats)!
3. You, my loyal readers read an average of a page and half each time you visit.
4. Your top favorite posts include:

• Controversy over "Fake" Service Dogs

• What is the Purpose of a Service Dog?

• Final Air Carrier Access Act Requires Rest Stops for Service Animals

• News: Alberta, Canada Extends Full public Access Rights to Person with Disabilities using Service Dogs

• Tips for Keeping your Service Dog Happy, Healthy, Beautiful, and Welcome

5. Nearly 40 percent of you find me through other blogs/websites! The top blogs/websites referring people here are:

• A SD By My Side (Listed in my Blog list on the right side of this page)
• Service Dog Central (Listed under Service Dog Community Links on the right)
• Charlie the North Star Dog (Listed in my Blog list on the right side of this page)
• A Service Dogs Journey (Listed in my Blog list on the right side of this page)
• Great Dane Service Dog (Listed in my Blog list on the right side of this page)
• Service Dog Sawyer (Listed in my Blog list on the right side of this page)

Thank you to each of you for feeling my blog was worth pointing your loyal readers to and for participating in this real time story about life with service dogs.

Now I promised you a contest and here it is!
Win a copy of Excel-erated Learning (this is my copy bought it, so I can give it away) simply by writing a short essay (between 200-400 words) on the most important thing you have learned about yourself because of your service dog or that your service dog has taught you. If you have a blog post your entry on it and leave a link for me in the comments under this post. If you don't have a blog send me an email. If you are not big on writing or your disability makes it difficult you can either dictate it to some one to write for you or (if you know how) send or post an audio entry. I will post the top three entries on my blog and the winner will get the book provided they remember to leave me a way to contact them. The deadline for entry is June 24, 2009.