A little white dog yapping and pulling its owner
towards another dog, winding in the leash, tripping its owner, we all have to
admit this is a common sight to see. However that normally wouldn't piss me
off, what really set me off was that that small dog was wearing a 'free my
paws' service dog vest, a scam company that makes it increasingly harder to
legally own and travel with a legit service dog right after I saw that dog
acting like that, they headed toward a bank! I was furious! That dog was
misbehaving so badly that I wanted to jump out of my skin let alone he was
wearing a vest that was making service dogs look misbehaved shame on you people
who falsely represent your pet as a service dog!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Three days in.
Well tonight is our third night on our vacation( by the time I have wifi it will probably be our last night) so far our trip has been very fun, but I miss Selik so much to no end. Yesterday I had a 'episode' and it was way worse than it normally would have been with Selik. But you know what? I got through it, gives me a little sense of accomplishment, you see.
As some of my struggles go on, I have recently reached my 2 month mark on no self-harm! Selik has really helped me trough this, I know I will probably relapse but I can only hope it won't be as bad as it used to be.
~Selik and Suz
As some of my struggles go on, I have recently reached my 2 month mark on no self-harm! Selik has really helped me trough this, I know I will probably relapse but I can only hope it won't be as bad as it used to be.
~Selik and Suz
Friday, August 10, 2012
Scared...
With my Trip to the WA cost up and approaching, the day I have to leave my dog is also. I have been relying on him for support and a alert system to my anxiety for about 2 months now and I am going to be away from him for 4 whole nights! I hope I can cope ok without him, as this will hopefully be our last trip with out him.
on my trip I should be blogging daily about past things with Selik that I failed to post. simply as a way of trying to keep him close as I am away
on my trip I should be blogging daily about past things with Selik that I failed to post. simply as a way of trying to keep him close as I am away
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wal-Mart and Costco public training
Well 2 days ago we began training in Selik's brand new vest. Our first stop was Wal-mart. This was his first time entering through automatic doors, but he seemed unfazed. This was his first time in a store and over all he did great! When he saw the shopping cart for the first time he let out one little muffled 'woof' and after that was silent.
Today we took an adventure into a crowded and busy Costco. I prepared for the worst with the Holt head collar, and harness vest. I wanted/thought I needed complete control of him in such a busy area but he did wonderful! completely unfazed by the people around him. We even went in the meet isle and he was fine! didn't sniff or lick anything(not that I would have let him eat or lick anything anyway lol)
Over all he has been doing wonderful with his public training and is a major kid attraction.
Today we took an adventure into a crowded and busy Costco. I prepared for the worst with the Holt head collar, and harness vest. I wanted/thought I needed complete control of him in such a busy area but he did wonderful! completely unfazed by the people around him. We even went in the meet isle and he was fine! didn't sniff or lick anything(not that I would have let him eat or lick anything anyway lol)
Over all he has been doing wonderful with his public training and is a major kid attraction.
Service dog vest
Selik in his service dog in training vest from wiredog. The vest is very well made and sturdy comment with questions on his vest if you like :)
Public training begins
July 29th, was the second day of intensive public access training, no that does NOT mean that Selik went around wearing a red vest that said 'service dog in training' I simply mean that we were in a dog friendly area (Leavenworth WA to be precise) we were on a 2 day trip, Selik's first trip for more than a hour in the car.
When we reached our destination I took Selik to go relieve himself. Lucky for us he only goes on command (most of the time anyway) and he is very picky about his footing. It must be soft and not dusty or muddy (one of his quirks I guess) He was pretty worked up after the long car ride, although we did have breaks at a couple of rest stops, I knew he still had to eliminate, as he is still a puppy and puppies ALWAYS have to go. So we walked over to a shady spot of grass and I told him to go (our elimination words are 'Go On' as I often used to get embarrassed saying 'Go Potty!' ) It took about 10 minutes of sniffing and sniffing and sniffing before he went, but it was EXTREMELY important that he went before we entered our hotel.
We got settled into our room which was after a long steep but wide stair case (we were in a very nice old hotel however there were no elevators which was a bummer because I wanted to work on that with him again). Now Selik has always found it fun to go up and down stairs, marching up then confidently, stepping way too high for each step and prancing happily. This gave me a awesome opportunity to work on his 'drive' skill. This skill will be extremely handy for my balance issues because he can help pull me up the stairs in a forward movement. We also worked on our 'brace' skill which when walking down stairs he goes slightly behind me and puts strain and let's me use the leash as a balance.
While walking around the town it was an amazing experience and training opportunity for Selik. It was a Saturday and there were so many people speaking different languages, walking dogs big and small, pushing wheelchairs and strollers. Now you are probably thinking that our situation would be the same if we were walking through a park, but the difference if that there were HUGE crowds of people, and at times we would have to wait to even move.
Not many of the stores allowed dogs but there were a few very close to a specialty dog store that did. We took that opportunity and went in them working on public etiquette. There was also a outdoor art show and live music that we got to attend with Selik. Over all, in stores and public places, he is very well mannered. We had many compliments on how well behaved he was for his age.
When it came time to turn in for the night Selik went into his collapsible travel crate. I won't lie, he had a hard time going to sleep, the hotel was right next to a bar that had live music playing loudly till 2 am and people started screaming outside around 4 am. My aunt who was with us exclaimed that it was louder than Las Vegas at night.
The second day went a lot like the first. Busy streets, stores, people and kids stopping to pet the 'puppy' either with a warning or not. Selik handled the attention very well. Paying attention to me, but still being affectionate towards his admirers, licking their hands and being patient with the little ones.
Before heading back we went to a restaurant with outdoor seating and worked on restaurant manners. He did very well and did not create any sort of disturbance.
Over all, our months of intensive training on obedience and socialization really proved to pay off by this trip. I think he is ready to be introduced to the public as a SDIT (service dog in training)
When we reached our destination I took Selik to go relieve himself. Lucky for us he only goes on command (most of the time anyway) and he is very picky about his footing. It must be soft and not dusty or muddy (one of his quirks I guess) He was pretty worked up after the long car ride, although we did have breaks at a couple of rest stops, I knew he still had to eliminate, as he is still a puppy and puppies ALWAYS have to go. So we walked over to a shady spot of grass and I told him to go (our elimination words are 'Go On' as I often used to get embarrassed saying 'Go Potty!' ) It took about 10 minutes of sniffing and sniffing and sniffing before he went, but it was EXTREMELY important that he went before we entered our hotel.
We got settled into our room which was after a long steep but wide stair case (we were in a very nice old hotel however there were no elevators which was a bummer because I wanted to work on that with him again). Now Selik has always found it fun to go up and down stairs, marching up then confidently, stepping way too high for each step and prancing happily. This gave me a awesome opportunity to work on his 'drive' skill. This skill will be extremely handy for my balance issues because he can help pull me up the stairs in a forward movement. We also worked on our 'brace' skill which when walking down stairs he goes slightly behind me and puts strain and let's me use the leash as a balance.
While walking around the town it was an amazing experience and training opportunity for Selik. It was a Saturday and there were so many people speaking different languages, walking dogs big and small, pushing wheelchairs and strollers. Now you are probably thinking that our situation would be the same if we were walking through a park, but the difference if that there were HUGE crowds of people, and at times we would have to wait to even move.
Not many of the stores allowed dogs but there were a few very close to a specialty dog store that did. We took that opportunity and went in them working on public etiquette. There was also a outdoor art show and live music that we got to attend with Selik. Over all, in stores and public places, he is very well mannered. We had many compliments on how well behaved he was for his age.
When it came time to turn in for the night Selik went into his collapsible travel crate. I won't lie, he had a hard time going to sleep, the hotel was right next to a bar that had live music playing loudly till 2 am and people started screaming outside around 4 am. My aunt who was with us exclaimed that it was louder than Las Vegas at night.
The second day went a lot like the first. Busy streets, stores, people and kids stopping to pet the 'puppy' either with a warning or not. Selik handled the attention very well. Paying attention to me, but still being affectionate towards his admirers, licking their hands and being patient with the little ones.
Before heading back we went to a restaurant with outdoor seating and worked on restaurant manners. He did very well and did not create any sort of disturbance.
Over all, our months of intensive training on obedience and socialization really proved to pay off by this trip. I think he is ready to be introduced to the public as a SDIT (service dog in training)
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