Furry Valentines- Four legged love!

Labrador Love!

True comfort with everything that come from being with me!

Bastien

Shilo

What, it's cozy!?

The girls, Cammy and Shilo

Together!

The girls working

A Month of Movies: Wretches & Jabbers along with Sprout Film Festival

I love movies as people who knows me will heartily agree. One thing I especially love about movies seeing my experiences and the experiences of my fellow members of the global cross disability portrayed with the full breadth and depth of the human experience that it is on screen. What does this have to do with service dogs you ask? Well, my town participated in 100 cities.One night for Autism.I was ecstatic for two reasons:
1) I have always considered myself a part of the global cross disability and know that the only way things will truly improve for people with disabilities in meaningful in lasting ways is we as people with disabilities come together in common goals and understanding for the better-meant of everyone's life.
2) This was my first Sensory Friendly public film viewing of Wretches & Jabbers. A Sensory Friendly Film viewing is one where the movie goer does not have to endure the often painful sensory overload that today's movie house experience can be. At a Sensory Friendly showing the sound is at a normal level instead of the usual bone rattling decibels, the lights are lowered but not completely off, people may laugh, get up and move around, and speak if necessary without fear of being summarily thrown out of the theater for disturbing others.  I, for one, will attending many, many more sensory friendly films with my favorite movie watching companion, my service dog Shilo. At this showing I did not have to worry if the accessible seat were also right in the line of the speakers or the doors. With the sound at a decent volume and the lights up neither Shilo or I had to worry about being blasted out of our seats or stepped on/ jostled by other patrons coming and going who did not see use and tripped on us or bumped into one of us! I highly recommend sensory friendly film showings to everyone!

We also were especially lucky to have our town be a stop on the tour of the Sprout Film Festival again this year! Last year I inadvertently missed it and this year I was determined to go and I am so glad I did!As many of my readers know, I am a person living with cerebral palsy which is a developmental disability along with others like autism spectrum disorders, down syndrome, angelman's sydrome, fragile X, and many more; so, I was thrilled to hear that artists and every day people with developmental disabilities were making films of all sorts be they documentaries,  music videos, shorts, or animated that show people with developmental disabilities as the complex human beings were are with all the hopes, dreams, goals desires and talents as any person not living with a disability.  The selections for the matinee showing were funny, real, thought provoking, beautiful, and full of true talent. In the words of Anthony Di Salvo, founder of the Sprout Film Festival, who hosted out tour stop,

"The days of it being acceptable for a non-disabled actor to portray a character with a disability are over. Just as the day has passed where it was acceptable for a person not of a race or ethic group to portray a character representing  that experience has gone by; so, too, have the days of characters with disability being played by able bodied actors. There are plenty of talented actors and performers with disabilities to fill these roles!"

Bark in the Park: A tail waggin' time with treats!

Melissa, Shilo, Leslie, and Cammy going though the information booths.

 Bark in the Park was a blast! While the final numbers both people and dogs participating and how much money was raised in total is still being totaled; the members of Willamette Valley Assistance Dog Club raised $345 for Greenhill.

Besides a nice 2k walk on a lovely Sunday morning. The dogs also got to try their paw at agility thanks to the members of Willamette Agility Group (WAG); get tons of treats, and learn about the dog blood bank. 

Willamette Valley Assistance Dog Club Team walks 2k to support Greenhill Humane Society

Shilo Shines in More Than Disability Video

Shilo and I recently assisted a UO Journalism student with a class project.  The video Shilo and I working together.
More than a Disability from Ethos Magazine on Vimeo.

Shilo and Cammy Meet Ian Dunbar!

The girls scramble to get to Ian!

I was very lucky to be able to scrape together enough money to attend one day of a three day lecture series put on by Dr. Ian Dunbar called "Science Based Dog Training with Feeling." While I would have loved to go to all three days, it just wasn't in the budget. Therefore I chose the day focused on Lure & Reward training. I learned and was reminded of a lot, so let me see if I can boil down some top points from the lecture.
Keys to Lure and Reward Based Training
1. Lure and Reward Training allows the Training to attach verbal cues immediately (1st trial) to a  behavior
2. The food Lure should be  gone (in other words the dog can see and smell the food while they are doing the behavior) in 6-12 trials for a given new behavior. Note that you continue to reward behaviors you want.
3. Allows the Trainer to immediately select and reward for the best performances of the behavior.
4. When phasing out food ask  more for less and replace with other reinforce like praise and life rewards.
5. The games Tug,  Fetch, and chase are intrinsically rewarding for dogs and can/should be used as rewards in training.
6. Train opposites

I could go one for days with what I learned about lure and reward training, instead visit Dog Star Daily read more about this training technique.


Understanding Pet Professionals & Getting What You Need
1. All pet professionals run their business on the assumption that you dog is both people and dog friendly. If your dog is not good with one of these two expect to be charged more because the work will be harder, take longer and use more staff to get the job done.
2. Don't be surprised if a Trainer fires you, if you don't follow through with exercises and homework. Your dog could be trained by them, yes, but it is your dog and they need to respond to you. The only way that will happen is if you do the work.
3. Don't sign up for group class with specific goals then go in expecting the trainer to throw the whole syllabus out the window because you and you dog aren't ready for it.

Sometimes You Just Need a Break

Shilo playing with Luna a CC'd dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind

Shilo and Cammy enjoying bones at the cabin

Shilo and Cammy bring their now less messy bones inside the cabin

Cammy really love her bone!

Shilo has many uses for her paws, but holding bones is by far most important!

A Few Precious Pictures from the Holidays and Tips for Dogs and Kids

This Christmas Shilo, me, Cammy, and my roommate Leslie were invite to my sister-in-laws parents house for Christmas Dinner. Shilo and Cammy have both been to this house several times before and always impress everyone with their, quiet, calm, yet friendly demeanor typical for a service dog. They are both also very good with children, and as such are good dogs to introduce to very young children like my nephew Elijah (see photo on the left) who is five and a half months old.
Introducing children to dogs and dogs to a child is in my mind always something to be done very carefully and with supervision of both the child and dog throughout the interaction always. Shilo and Cammy are both what we like to call "Mommy types" who are very tolerant of typical behaviors of small children for instance grabbing, poking, squealing, screeching, and falling but that doesn't mean that we let children run roughshod over them.Patience is, after all, a virtue with limits.
One must also watch that dogs behaviors that are perfectly benign for an older child or adult like licks, sniffing or vocalizations don't scare or startle a small child. First impressions can have lasting affect on the relationship between child and dog.

• Ensure neither the child,the dog, or the supervising adult are cranky or tired at the time of interaction. Beings who are in these states have less patience for the new and unusual.
• Use your happy voice throughout the interaction
• Use cues your dog knows to keep the interactions under control and non- threatening such as Sit, Down, Off, Say Hi
• Help the child to gently pet and interact with the dog. With babies I tend to gently guide the hand they are reaching out for the dog with in small touches finished by a nice long stroke from me for the dog. 
• If either child or dog get too excited with the interactions happily say your calming cue for your dog and take a break.
• Make sure the child or dog has nothing the other may want like food or toys before initiating interaction. Children and dogs both tend to live by the What's mine is mine and what I can get of yours is mine rules of possession so it's best not to involve high value items into the interaction.
• Always look for sign that either the child or dog are tiring or would like to move on. Keeping interaction short means that it is less likely anyone will loose patience. 

For more tips on kids and dogs read Advice and Tips Children and Dogs at home

 

Best Holiday Wishes

Wishing all our Reader a Happy Holiday Season!

From Christmas 2010 We hope you can spend it with those you love!

Halloween: Little Red Riding Hood and The not so Big Bad Wolf

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! We had a wonderful time! My roommate and I are both very beginning machine sewers and we decided it would be fun to make costumes this years using things we already had combined with things made from fabric pieces brought in a huge bag from Goodwill. I think the costumes turned out splendidly. Cammy and Leslie went as Hansel and Greddel and Shiloh and I went as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf pretending to be grandma!
These pictures illustrate two points of temperament very important to a successful and happy service dog willingness to trust the handler and accept change whether it be in gear or really strange environments like Halloween parties. Both Dogs "danced" with their handlers and recognized the fun vibe enven the people were showing up in all kinds of strange outfits.

Grooma-palooza: Our Trip to the dog wash.

Last Saturday, both Shiloh and Cammy needed a bath and since things are a little tight financially it was decided the self service dog wash, U Suds 'Em would be the best way to meet our needs for clean dogs with busting the bank. This a great in between full professional groom and DIY job at home. At the dog bath we have access to different soaps, brushes, blow dryers,special tubs and such we just don't have at home. Not too mention the fact that they take care of cleaning the mess and maintaining the equipment!

Shiloh, waits her turn on a tie down outside the tub area.

Leslie and Cammy go over the tools with the staff

Cammy gets Furminated before her bath. 

Cammy all soapy.

Shiloh's Turn!

Shiloh gets furminated!

Shiloh all soapy.

Educating Friends and Community Members

As a very active team Shiloh and I work diligently to present our community with an image of a happy, reasonable, and responsible team and recently our efforts have been paying off since people see us (all right me) as a credible resource for their questions.

Shiloh, myself, my roommate, and her Guide Dog Cammy went into a local bookstore to sell some books we no longer wanted for a little cash. As I entered the store I was pleased to discover one of our dog park friends worked there and that her little Boston Terrier, Little D, served as shop dog. She knew that our girls were on duty and quickly moved Little D behind the counter so that we could simply go about our business. (Not that our girls couldn't work with him around, it just gave her peace of mind that he wouldn't pester us.) As we finished our business she asked if she could ask us a question about our dogs. She wanted to know if service dogs had to wear harnesses, or vests when out in public. Not wanting to increase confusion or spread misinformation-nevermind how simple it is to dress one's service dog so people are not always pestering you about bringing THAT DOG in here- we told her no the law doesn't require that service dogs wear any kind of special harness of vest. However, we went on to say that most people will since it is so simple to do and cuts down on people hassling them. She asked because a lady had come into the store with a dog who wasn't dressed and not the best behaved and when she asked the lady about the dog the lady got offended saying it was a service dog. We also told her the questions that the DOJ has said businesses can ask. She thanked us and said she looked forward to seeing us again.
How about it readers (Those who are partnered with SDs) do you dress your service dog? Why or why not? leave a comment and tell others and me what you think. Those readers not partnered with service dogs how do you feel about harnesses and vests for service dogs?

We have a housekeeper who comes every couple of weeks to help with the deeper cleaning that neight myself nor my roommate can do very well and as I sat relaxing one evening I her voice come over the answering machine wondering if I might be able to give her some resources on service dogs who do seizure response, since she know that is what Einstein does, for a friend of hers who has epilepsy and is now living alone for the first time in years as her son just moved out. When she came over later that week I gave her the websites for ADI and IAADP to share with her friend since her friend is very new to the idea of a service dog. I was happy to pass on credible sources of information for her friend, since I know there are a lot of websites out there full of misinformation.

A Change of Scenery can do Wonders

When a Service Dog Can't Work

This last week Cammy, my roommate's guide dog pulled a muscle in her leg. My roommate realized her girl needed a couple days off and pulled out her white cane. Her white cane is far from her favorite way to get around, but she had to go to school and work. Many people considering partnering with a service dog think that having a dog means they will no longer need other tools or people to function with their disability. Even though our dogs are amazing, one should never make a dog, no matter how well trained, solely responsible for one's health and safety. It is important to have back up ways to meet your needs in case your service dog is sick or injured.
1. When you get a service dog do not get rid of any mobility equipment you already have and make sure you always have it where you can get to it quickly. Guide Dogs for the Blind encourages their graduates to carry at least an ID Cane in case something should happen.
2. Carry a cell phone in case you need to call someone to help you.
3. If you have caregivers do not eliminate them because you think the dog will handle it all.
4. Identify people who could come babysit your service dog if they cannot work and you must go out.

Thoughts on Keeping Stress Low in Service Dogs While Working

Everyone knows the "All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy." This also applies to service dogs. Even if a dog truly delights in working, many handlers will tell you the dog has a favorite aspect, or pace that may not happen as much as the dog would like. Some examples from my pack include:

• Cammy- loves to guide her mom at a very speedy pace through campus and around town. She finds slow tasks like shopping extremely boring. To alleviate some of her boredom her mom will often use the time in the aisles/ racks to ask for and reward precise obedience behaviors.

• Bastien- Bastien loves to play tug, fetch small stuffed toys, chew on nylabones, perform fast paced obedience drills, and making new friends dog or human. In our life together we often had very long days from the time we left the house until we made it home. Between bus time and actual work hours a ten hour day was average when working out of the office. When we traveled and worked conference a sixteen hour day was not unheard of. I always kept water bowls, treats and small toys in our pack, so that Bastien could let off some steam while working. It never ceased to amazed me what a difference a couple of face paced/rewarded drills, a minute out two of good tugging, a quiet five to ten minute nyla chew under the table, or a chance to meet someone new made in Bastien's ability to hang with me during even the longest days.
• Shiloh-loves chew toys, treats, sniffing, and meeting new people.
• Einstein lives for tennis balls. Between classes his mom has identified out of the way spots on campus where they can toss the ball a few times on a long line.
  
• Finally all of our dogs love the dog park!
  

Learning to keep tabs on their dogs stress levels has helped many people I know become more aware and in control of their own stress levels. Being prepared to meet your partners needs, will help the team to always function at top levels!

Life: Moving with Service Animals

My roommates and I spent the entire weekend packing, moving and unpacking three people, two Service Dogs, one emotional support cat and her brother and we are exhausted!!! Moving always involves a lot of details and moving with service animals in tow adds some interesting things to consider such as:

• What are the landlords procedures on services dogs?
• What documentation must you provide?
• How will your partners and your daily routines need to change in this new environment?
• Are there any additional tasks or rules for living that you will need to teach your partner so that life will be smooth and safe for everyone?
• How will you introduce your partner to the new neighborhood both people and animals?

During the process of finding a new apartment we encountered many properties and management companies that were in serious need of education on the laws in Oregon and the Fair Housing Act as they pertained to service animals in rental properties. We spent a lot of time educating and weighing the pros and cons of each property including their policies, amenities and the lifestyles each would offer. In the end we chose a small building in the heart of Eugene. We spent a lot of time and energy jumping through hoops with regard to the service animals and ensuring that we complied with the accommodation process, while safe guarding our privacy.
The actual move went fairly smooth. Both Cammy and Einstein displayed some stress over the change. Cammy chooses to display her stress through potty issues, while Einstein refused to eat for three days and displayed remarkably high anxiety. Much of Einstein's stress came from his handler going to a single apartment. After a week in the new place both dogs are settling nicely into the new routines and neighborhood. They are both enjoying the morning six block walk to the university. We are working to create a small run in the alley between the two apartments and are exploring the neighborhood for good walking routes and parks where the dogs can exercises and unwind.
As far as new or revisited training the move requires both Cammy and Einstein are brushing up on their "waits" at open doors since our building is surrounded by allies and parking lots. Einstein will be taught to hit a wireless intercom to call us over if his handler needs help. This is much safer than leaving the doors unlocked for him to physically come get us.

Meet Cammy and Leslie

I met Leslie and her Guide Dog Cammy, when they began volunteering at Mobility International USA, the non-profit I work for. Leslie is a junior at the University of Oregon majoring in Comparative Literature.

Cammy, is her four year old Guide Dog matched with Leslie during the spring of her senior year of high school. Cammy was trained by Guide Dogs for the Blind. They completed their team training at the Boring, Oregon campus. Cammy is a mellow, sociable girl who takes her work very seriously. Cammy and Leslie can be a difficult pair to keep up with! In her off time Cammy enjoys making new friends (both human and dog), chewing on her bones, a rousing game of wrestle and chase with another dog, sniffing, tug O' war, and cuddling.

Did someone say Beach???

Today, my roommates and I decided we needed a day trip to the Oregon Coast.We took both of their service dogs and set off. I am sorry to say that our cameras decided to go on the fritz so we don't have pictures, rest assured this will be remedied on our next beach trip in two weeks. We, Katie and I, happened to have discovered a very sheltered small beach area a year ago where we could allow our dogs to run on the beach, play in the surf and dig to China!!! Einstein, Katie's GSD Medical Response service dog has an impeccable recall and loves to swim and play on the beach. He also has an insatiable need to herd his pack!! He decided that his girlfriend Cammy, a black lab Guide Dog needed to discover the joys on the beach. He introduced her to bounding through the shallow surf, running full tilt on the beach and rock climbing. This was all only possible because Cammy's mom (aka handler) has been working on Cammy's recall and the presence of two sighted guides, Katie and I, to make sure the dogs stayed in sight.
It is often difficult for service dog handlers to find activities that allow the dogs some real down time and the space to just be. Whether the down time is throwing the ball until they drop, taking a meandering walk with plenty of time for sniffing, going to the dog park, going to the beach, or whatever makes your service and you as a team feel rested and rejuvenated; down time is essential to maintaining a dog who is happy to work.