One year later

Wow, in twenty-three days, Coral and I have been together for one year! What a year! After her surgery, we kind of had to relearn each other. My service dog friends told me that it takes one year to get to a point where you are a well-oiled team and boy were they right. In the beginning,  when we were out in public, Coral was good but her focus was all over the place. I had to keep reminding her not to sniff, eat dropped food, etc. Now when we go out in public, she sticks right by me and when I stop she either stands still or lies down. I have recently added a Halti which seems to really help her focus. We have gotten compliments about how serious and well-behaved she is. Early on, when we would go to a restaurant she would "under" but periodically pop up. Now she goes under and stays for the entire meal! She's way more connected to me! She hangs out on her own accord with me. For a while, when I was changing aides I kinda slacked on training and exercise but now we do training sessions every day and two walks! We're honing our tasks. If I had one piece of advice for new service dog handlers, I would say Don't give up. The first year will be exceedingly difficult. You will probably want to return your dog at some point but if you stick with it, it will be worth it.

Coral 8 weeks!

Hey everyone,

So yesterday was Coral's 8 weeks appointment to see if her leg is all healed. The doctor took x-rays of both legs and said she looks great. She can slowly start working. She unfortunately can't have free range of the house or yard or play with Bailey for another 8 weeks. But she can walk on the treadmill! Which will be awesome considering she has put on a few pounds during her recovery. She was so happy when I let her off leash at my apartment for the first time. Anyway, all in all a very good vet visit! Here's a photo of the happy girl. 

Coral's Forced Vacation

In my last post I mentioned she ha d a sprained knee. Well, unfortunately that "sprained knee" turned out to be a completely torn ACL.  She had to have surgery on June 14th, and is now two weeks into an eight week strict bed rest regime, followed by another weeks of limited movement.  Considering all that, she has been an awesome patient.  Because she's so hyper, I was worried that she would not accept her bed rest and complain nonstop about her sudden inactivity.  She actually hasn't complained at all.  She's more than happy just chilling with me.  Unfortunately, I'm pretty much housebound because I have to keep a constant eye on her to ensure that she doesn't do anything to jeopardize her recovery.

That being said, she's already walking on her leg and her limp gets better everyday.  Today we had her stitches  removed, and in a few days she'll get to have her cone removed (one of her stitches got a slight infection that should be cleared up within a couple days).  She's still her happy-go-lucky self.  She definitely wants to work though.  Anyways, just wanted to give you all an update.

Bailey and Coral Update

Hey All,

Whew!  It has been a very busy six weeks since I got back from camp.  Bailey is doing great and having zero jealousy issues with Coral.  In fact, he loves having another dog in the house.  He's actually somewhat better when guests come over.  He sees Coral being all friendly and thinks, "If she likes them, they can't be so bad."  He'll never be one to go up to strangers on his own, but there is definite improvement.

Coral has been a dream to work with in public.  She's as cool as a cucumber.  We can go anywhere and her general reaction is, "Eh, cool."  When I worked Bailey in public, I was constantly looking around for stuff/people that might stress him out.  I was always somewhat on edge.  With Coral, since I know she's "bomb proof", I'm completely relaxed in public with her.  Besides the every day stuff, we've been to a Dodger game, the zoo, and the second screening of my documentary.  All those busy places she took completely in stride.

We're still working on tasks.  For some reason, I had to completely re-train "get it" (her cue for picking things up and putting them in my lap).  She was doing it regularly when we were at camp, but when we got back to the west coast, she left that skill in Georgia.  Now she's a pro.  We practice door every day (her opening the door for me), and soon I think I'll just be able to roll up to the door and she'll open it.  Her brand new task is learning to push my emergency response button.  She's doing well learning that too.

Coral was on activity restriction for three weeks.  As professional as she is in public, she's a wild woman when it comes time to play.  So we think she sprained her knee sometime and never let it heal properly.  She had a slight limp every now and then, but it never went away totally.  So I took her to the vet and he said that she just sprained her knee and needed rest.  So for three weeks she was not happy because she could not run and play with Bailey.  Now she's all better.  Unfortunately, I've decided to sideline her ball playing until she's a bit older and calmer (if that ever happens), she just gets too crazy trying to get the ball.  Now she jogs on her treadmill for 15 minutes a day and is back to playing with Bailey.  She actually lost weight and is looking in tip-top shape.

One of Coral's weaknesses is food.  She has stolen berries and grapes (yes, I know grapes are poisonous for dogs and I called her vet right away).  So we quickly learned to put all food well out of reach.

Here are some videos of Coral and Bailey.  I'm so lucky to have two awesome dogs.

Introducing Coral

Hey All,

So as you might know, I applied to various organizations when Bailey washed out.  In mid-March, I went to Atlanta to a training camp to receive a service dog.  Here's my log of what happened:

First Day of camp...Jennifer (the founder of Canine Assistants) tells me that she has a specific dog in mind for me. But warns me that Coral has been crated for the whole weekend so she’s going to be a bit hyper. So I’m thinking “okay, I can handle that”. And then holy shit here comes Coral the blonde tornado of energy. She was ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! Pulling, wiggling, trying to get to other dogs and with no hesitation jumped on me within seconds. However, I was not like, “OMG this is my dog.” Instead I was like, “OMG there is no way I want this crazy dog!”
 So then they let me work with a golden retriever named Hooch who was very sweet and mellow.  I was like, “Awesome, this is exactly what I want.” But Jennifer had other plans. I was given Coral again for some one on one time in our own room. Coral had calmed down quite a bit and I noticed how much she kept “checking in” with me by looking towards me and making eye contact. However, I was still nervous about choosing her and decided to work with Hooch one more time. This time, in comparison to Coral, I noticed that he wasn’t looking at me at all. And he wasn’t very motivated to interact with me. So I decided to trust Jennifer and was paired up with what I thought was a hyper dog. During the pairing announcements they called my name and I went up to the front of the room. They put Corals leash around the handle of my chair and everyone began clapping for us. When her trainer walked away Coral lunged after her and my chair started to tip backwards. The room went from clapping and smiles to thirty people collectiveley gasping in horror all at the same time. Luckily Coral immediately sat back down and my chair fell forward to its correct place instead of tipping on my ass.
   On Wednesday when I rolled into the room she immediately started barking from her crate. And I was like, lovely, I got a barker too! But then I realized that she was barking because she was focused on me and wanted to get out to me. She was much calmer and we worked on heel and how she needed to walk along side me and proper doorway etiquette. When Jennifer was lecturing, Coral didn’t lay down next to me, but she wasn’t hyper either. However at one point she did the trained movement of “go under the table “ without me even asking her to. Awesome! At one point while  I was listening to the lecture Coral got up from under the table and kept jumping up on me. Nichole (my aide) kept redirecting her until one of the trainers came up. She asked if Coral had been out to potty lately and said she might be trying to tell me that she needed to go outside. Sure enough when I took her outside she immediately went to the bathroom. I’ve got to remember to listen to my dog.
 On Thursday we started with class lectures and then after a couple of hours we were able to get our dogs out of the crates. I took her out to go potty but she didn’t go. So we went back inside and we worked on rewarding Coral for making eye contact and looking up at me. We also worked on the “leave it” command. She picked up on it super fast. At lunch time she made a few lunges on the table for treats. but she was quickly redirected.
  After a very looooooong safety lecture it was time to go. Before we got on the bus I took her over to the grass again and she went to the bathroom. Since it was the first time she had done this leashed to me we made a big deal about it and she got tons of praise and treats. When we got back to the hotel we took her into our room and just let her sniff and explore for a few minutes. She jumped up on the bed but immediately got off when my Mom told her to. I then went to the bathroom and I thought Coral would just keep exploring, but no. She came into the bathroom and laid down until I was done. Then I went to the computer and checked my email. She again, just laid down next to me. Besides that she also automatically did “under” and went under my desk without even being asked to.
  At dinner she was pretty good but she did steal some food off my plate. But when the other dogs barked at each arriving team she always kept quiet. Awesome! After dinner I took her outside and she pooped. I then did some more work on the computer and she laid down next to me quietly.
  After that I took her out to potty one more time. Then went back to my hotel room to shower. Coral stayed in the bathroom with me and my Mom giving me her attention the whole time. Since she seems to like being under the table I decided to tie her leash to the table leg instead of the chair, for our first night together. Honestly I was nervous about how many times she might wake me up and need to go out. But despite me waking up many times to listen for her she slept through the entire night.  All the other dogs woke up during the night and needed to go to the bathroom.
    Friday morning Nichole came over at 7:30  to take Coral out to use the bathroom.  She didn’t make a peep when Nichole came in and they quickly went outside and she peed. Nichole brought her back and again tied her leash to the table leg. Coral was quiet until I got out of bed. At breakfast she didn’t do “under” but she did lay down quietly behind me. And this time she never tried to jump up and steal food.
    When we got to the farm my trainer mounted the new set up for Corals leash on my chair. It has a set of rings so that I can leash her to me easily at different lengths. I love it! Then we separated into groups with our trainers and I began working  on “heel”. Then my trainer showed me another (and much easier) way to teach “leave it”. After working on that for a while the trainer showed me “go get it” and “drop”. Basically she held out a large pill bottle and Coral took it from her hands and dropped it into my lap. Pretty cool!
   After the training session it was play time. All the dogs got to go run in the yard and play ball. My sweet girl is a total ball hog! She kept stealing the ball from everyone. She was so reluctant to give up the ball that when she went to take a drink of water she still had the ball in her mouth. Therefore she was shoving her ball filled mouth into the water. Finally realizing she was not going to be able to drink and hold the ball at the same time, she put the ball in one water bowl and drank out of the other.  When play time was over and I was taking her back inside the classroom we stopped at the water bowl. She drank violently and then did something hysterical. While drinking she began to make a digging motion in the water bowl at the same time, splashing water everywhere. Her paws were soaked and then she decided to roll around in the water on the ground, soaking her belly too. Lovely!
      At lunch she just crashed out next to me. After that I took her outside to go potty and then it was time to get on the bus and head over to my most favorite place in the world, Wal-Mart. She was a rock star! And other than having to do a few “leave its” she was amazing. This really shows me what having a happy service dog is like.
   When we got back to the hotel parking lot Coral peed. I took her up to my room and gave her a new toy, a nylabone. She LOVED it! I then checked my email and she crashed out hard. At dinner she was excellent and immediately went under the table when we sat down to eat. She never asked for food once. After dinner I did some work on my computer and she crashed out again. That night she slept all night long and I slept way better too.
   Saturday was mall day. We went to breakfast and Coral went under the table immediately. She seems to know the routine pretty well now. After breakfast we got on the bus and headed towards the mall. Only Nichole went with me for this outing. She and Coral were in the seats in front of me. Usually Coral sits with her and my mom pretty patiently. But today she had all eyes on me. She kept walking away from Nichole and trying to get back to where I was sitting. Nichole was able to coax her back to the seat with treats. But even then she was sitting upright looking over the seat at me. She wasn’t being bad she just wanted to sit by me. Eventually she settled down for the ride and watched me from under the seat instead.
    At the mall she was yet again, a rock star. Erica (her trainer) and I were working on the elevator with Coral because I want her to get on/off more quickly. Then we went out on our own. First, we went into a clothing store. She did great navigating the tightly packed aisles of clothes. Then we moved on to a larger department store where we practiced the elevator some more. She did better now that we were using some of Erica’s tips. We then went into an extremely small and narrow tea shop. There were lots of breakable things around the store but Coral was very careful navigating among them. After that I took Coral into the public restroom to practice what it will be like for when I use one in the future.
  After that we just walked around the mall. We passed by the easter bunny who was waving at us and Coral was just like “meh.” Then a kids train ride passed us by. It was pretty loud and played a conducters whistle. She again just looked at it like “eh whatever”. Then it was lunch time and we took another elevator up to the food court on the second floor. We got some lunch and then sat down to eat. Coral quickly did another “under” without being directed to. After lunch it was time to go. So we loaded up the bus and headed back to the hotel. When we got there I wanted to take her out to potty. Nichole had forgotten her back pack on the bus so she ran after the driver. While she was gone I took Coral over to the grass and she pottied without anyone there to say “better hurry” (her cue for potty). She’s so damn smart!
   I was very wiped out and all I wanted to do was chill. So I went back to my hotel room and took Coral off the leash. She chewed on her nylabone for a minute and then passed out. My mom and I took Coral out to pee when the cleaning lady came by our room. There was a fair close by and she seemed concerned about the kids riding down the huge slide. After that we chilled some more until it was time for dinner.
  Earlier in the day I had received my trainer’s permission to take Coral to one of the restaurants across the street for dinner. We walked to the restaurant, sat down inside, and although not automatic, she did go under the table with Nichole’s prompts. She did not move all through dinner. When we returned back to the hotel she went potty on the lawn outside before we headed back up stairs. She again, slept through the night.
   Sunday we had a free day. Nichole came over to my room again at 7:30 in the morning and took Coral out to pee. We then went down to breakfast but I wanted real coffee so we ate quickly and then headed over to Starbucks. We spent a little over an hour hanging out at Starbucks and chatting. Coral “undered” and stayed there for the entire time. We then walked back to the hotel. Once there we began practicing eye contact, down and picking up items and dropping them into my lap. She did well. We then took her down into one of the conference rooms and shut the doors. We took all of Coral’s gear off and then played fetch with the kong toy. OMG she loved it! And within fifteen minutes she was tired. We then met up with my Mom out on the patio for lunch. Coral went under the table and crashed out.
   After that I went back to my hotel room and watched “Being Elmo”. Coral was crashed out for most of it. We then skyped with my dad for a bit. Then I fed coral before we all headed downstairs for an early dinner. Coral slept well all night.
   Monday it was time for class again. Breakfast was good and Coral undered. When we got to the farm we split up into groups with our trainers and worked one on one. Erica showed me how Coral and I would do the light switch, the door, the handicap push button,  and go get help. We practiced tug for quite a while. Coral got so good at it that all I had to do was roll up to the door and she would open it without any verbal commands. We also learned how to teach our dogs “freeze”. This is an emergency command for a situation where Coral has gotten off leash and I want to prevent her from running after something.
  We ate lunch and then had one more practice session. And then we just hung out on the porch for a while enjoying the shade. Everyone, dogs and humans, were tired from all the work that was accomplished today. When we got back to the Hotel, Coral just crashed out. When she woke up from her nap I noticed she was slightly limping in her front left leg. It’s not horrible and she’s her happy self but tomorrow I’m having her checked out. At dinner she again went under the table automatically.
    Tuesday we had breakfast as usual and then loaded up to head over to the farm. As soon as we got there I asked the Vet Kent, Jennifer’s husband, what he thought about Coral’s limp. he checked out her left leg and everything seemed normal. Since she wasn’t limping today he felt it was just a minor ball playing injury. He prescribed some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine as a just in case. And if she is in any discomfort it will make her feel better. Unfortunately  he also said that Coral cannot play in the yard with the other dogs right now or play fetch with her Kong toy. Once class started we went straight into a long vet lecture. Coral just layed by my side through the whole thing.
    During lunch we listened to another lecture about what to expect and things to do in the first two weeks after bringing our dogs home. After that we had yet another lecture on the rules of fundraising and asking for donations. Through all of these lectures Coral was awesome! After that we met up with our trainers and they showed us proper grooming techniques for our dogs. During one of the lectures  Coral began to quietly play with her neighbor Ernie, a big fluffy white labradoodle. It was so cute. Ernie was pawing at her face and they began to play tug with the handle of his leash.
    Even though Coral didn’t ‘do much” today, I could tell she was tired. When we got back to the hotel I took her for a “naked” walk and just let her be a dog for a bit. When I was checking my email she chilled next to me while chewing on her nylabone and soon crashed out. At dinner she again went under the table and just layed there the whole time.  
    On Wednesday, most of the class went to Hardee’s and Target, but I and a few other people stayed back at the hotel for some one on one time with Jennifer.  We worked on Coral following my eye commands and working on picking what paper cup I was looking at.  She did well.  Although she didn’t potty, and in the middle of training she gave me an “Oh fuck” look and squatted and peed.  I think she was concentrating so hard on doing the right thing, that she forgot to tell me.  After that I went back to my room and worked on my computer.  Suddenly I had a can of shaving cream on my lap.  Apparently Coral thought I needed to shave.  I took her out before dinner, and then she crashed out at dinner.  
    Thursday we had a long day of last day lectures.  Coral was excellent and just stayed by me.  After lunch we played some games like “musical sit” and “fastest re-call”.  The funniest thing happened during “fastest re-call”.  It was my turn, and Jennifer took Coral to the middle of the room.  She let her go, and me and my aide started calling her.  I fully expected her to come bolting to me, but she stood there with the most confused expression, “but Jennifer wants me here.”  It was pretty funny and eventually she came.  Then we went back to the hotel to get ready for graduation.  At graduation, I got to meet her puppy raiser and got a photo album of puppy pictures of Coral.  Her raiser is a teacher, and she took Coral to her class for all her students to read to her.  Her students wrote letters to Coral, and they’re so cute.  When Coral and my name were called, we went up and received our graduation certificate.  It was awesome and powerful.  
    On Friday, Coral was not a happy camper.  Because we were flying home, I didn’t feed her breakfast and omg she was cranky.  I took her for a long walk before it was time to go to the airport.  She breezed through security, and liked being checked.  Before the flight, I used the airport relief area for SD’s.  I was a bit nervous flying five hours with a new dog, but Coral was awesome.  She mainly just slept.  As soon as we landed, we raced outside to let her potty.  She’s a remarkable dog and I’m so excited to start working with her.

Here are two videos of her:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNeyEjFcnQ&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGxRZSd7tDI&feature=relmfu

Bailey is adjusting nicely.  He likes to play with her, but I think he's ready for her to "go home".  We're giving Bailey special attention so that he doesn't feel like he's being replaced.  He's such a sweet and good boy.

Bailey Update

Hey all,

I thought I would give you an update on Bailey.  He's loving not being a SD.  He's much more relaxed and joyful.  Going to the dog park is one of his favorite things ever!  He loves playing with all the other dogs.

Around people he doesn't know, he's still nervous.  He leaves the room when one of my aides comes.  Since he's not my SD, this behavior is ok.  If people leave him alone, he's ok.  He now loves my dad (remember how he used to growl?) and he will stick his head on my dad's lap and look up like, "Please pet me."  He's a very happy and spoiled dog.

Here's an album of pictures.  Enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hey All,
 So I have been getting several emails asking me questions regarding Bailey and his retirement. So here’s a list of frequently asked questions that I would like to answer for all of my readers.

Why are you retiring Bailey?

I’ve decided to retire Bailey because he’s been telling me (through his body language) that he is unhappy when working in public. In addition he is uncomfortable around strangers and will sometimes growl at them in public. Also Bailey has shown me that he is generally just a shy dog. I have two aides and a physical therapist whom Bailey has seen 2-3 times a week for the past five months. He still will not go up to them and anxiously keeps a distance from them. These people are no longer strangers and he still has issues with them. At fifteen months old this is not something that Bailey will just grow out of. This is a part of his personality. Just like with humans, some dogs are just more social than others.

He seems so well behaved, why does it matter if he’s not comfortable in public?
Bailey is an incredibly smart dog and a super good boy. But lots of dogs are smart, that doesn’t make them a good candidate for service work alone. Service dogs must LOVE to work for you, not just in the home but in public where there are many strangers, distractions and surprises. If he’s not comfortable working in public it means he is stressed. Stressed out dogs, if pushed too far can be dangerous.

How can you tell that he doesn’t like working in public?
I can tell by Bailey’s body language. His eyes are constantly darting around anxiously. He never wags his tail. He never opens his mouth in the natural dog behavior of panting (aka smiling).  This is especially apparent when strangers come near to him (even if they are ignoring him). He immediately pulls away in fear  (and Bailey does not usually pull away from me) and basically tries to hide and kind of just “shuts down”. Another way he is telling me he is uncomfortable is he will sometimes growl at a person nearby ,but never in an aggressive way so I know it’s not a “protective” type thing.

What if Bailey stopped growling at strangers? Would you work him then?
No. Even if Bailey were to stop growling at strangers that wouldn’t mean that he was comfortable with them or happy working in public. It would simply mean he was “trained” not to growl. That would actually be dangerous because then he wouldn't be able to communicate his fear which could lead to him communicating by eventually snapping at someone.


If Bailey became more comfortable with your aides and people visiting your home, would you try to work him then?
It would be awesome if Bailey was more comfortable with the people in my home. In fact since I’ve stopped working him he has become way more relaxed with people in my home. I think this is because he is less stressed in general and now just gets be a happy pet. I know if I started working him again his stress would come back and might appear in the form of anxiety in the home or something new.
I owe it to Bailey to listen to what he’s telling me and not try to force him to do something he is just not comfortable doing.

Is Bailey unhappy now that he’s fully retired and no longer a SD?
Actually the opposite, he thinks he’s just won the lottery! He now gets to go to the dogpark and play with other dogs which is one of his favorite activities. We’ve also been mixing little treats like left over chicken into his food now that I don’t have to worry about him not paying attention to yummy smelling food at restaurants. Also he gets the same love and attention and now has a stronger bond with my parents since he is not “my” SD but the family pet.


What’s happened with bailey, is it uncommon?
Service Dogs in training are carefully screened and chosen based on their temperament, breeding and family health history. Even after this strict process the success rate for a dog to become a SD is about 40%. I knew these statistics when I began owner training so I’ve always known they’re was the possibility that Bailey wouldn’t want to work or wouldn’t turn out to be the right candidate for service work.

What does a “happy service dog” look like?
This is a happy service dog...



As you can see this SD has no problem with people and/or objects getting close to him. He looks around but it is not with anxiety more curiosity. When people approach him, he  is comfortable and inviting not shy or pulling away. I know this service dog’s owner and I know for a fact that he is very happy when working.

Service dog fundraiser

Eva's service dog fund raiser

Bailey Update

So I know I haven’t been blogging for a while now. And I feel it it time to tell you all why. I hate to have to write this but I have noticed Bailey is not happy when he’s working outside of the home. He seems very nervous in public, even though I stopped working Bailey for six weeks and just focused on fun socializing outings. This made a huge improvement with his growling but when in public his eyes are constantly darting around on alert and he backs away from people when they get close. Also he still growls at people randomly. Although I have consulted professionals regarding this behavior, his growling is so inconsistent that we have not been able to pinpoint it to a specific trigger other than him just being generally uncomfortable around strangers.

He is able to relax and fall asleep when he is on a "down" for a long period of time, but if a person walks near to him he pops up and is on nervous alert again. At home he is great with me but not everybody else. He's incredibly smart and loves doing tasks for me, but he is still not comfortable with my two part time aides. One of which he has seen twice a week for the past four months. I haven't even been able to take him out when those aides are working. Of course we could physically get the leash on him but because I can see he is too nervous I was not working him when accompanied by those aides.

I know this is not a fear stage because looking back at his behavior and our training I realize now that he has been randomly uncomfortable with strangers since I first started working with him (ugh! Hindsight is always 20/20). Of course all dogs have “behaviors” that can be worked on. For example Bailey sometimes gets really excited when he sees other dogs. This is a behavior that with some work he can overcome. In comparison him being nervous and shy around strangers  (and even some people who aren’t strangers) and generally just unhappy while out with me in public is not a “behavior” that can be trained out of him. At this point it is a part of his personality. Just like with some people he is a shy and sensitive little guy. Training cannot change him into an outgoing, stranger loving dog.

 The most important task I want my SD to do is be a social facilitator by performing trained interactions with people (like taking stuff out of there hands when someone tries to give me something that I can't grab). And to just be friendly which encourages strangers to talk to me (everyone loves a friendly dog). I talked some more with my current trainer and the trainer Bailey lived with for 5 months. Both of them support my decision to retire Bailey as a Service Dog and are encouraging me to pursue a program dog.
 
One consistent thing that everybody notices about Bailey is that when he is around other dogs his confidence sky rockets. Obviously I can’t have a Service Dog that needs an additional emotional support animal (haha). But this is really comforting because I know if I get another dog in the future Bailey will be ecstatic about having a friend in the house with him.
 
 So you might be wondering what this means for Bailey now. Well for one thing he’s getting to do more fun activities and can now go to the dog park and just be a playful pet. He is absolutely no longer going to be my Service Dog so my family and I have been transitioning him into getting used to be a family pet and not going everywhere with me. So far he is really enjoying his new status. Of course this doesn’t mean that he will no longer be receiving any training.  All dogs regardless of working status should be stimulated with basic behavior and play training. Bailey loves his speak command and gets so excited to show off. And I will continue to work on his “dog distraction” because even as a pet he still needs to be well behaved when we’re out on walks. Once I get a program dog I will still do ”Bailey and Me” time, such as dog parks and walks just the two of us and Bailey will continue to get tons of love and attention.

Of course I really wanted Bailey to work out as my SD so this really sucks but I have always said if Bailey's not happy working then I won't make him work. He’s telling me he doesn’t want to work and I am listening. Thanks for reading.

Bailey Update

So I know I haven't blogged in a while but I've been having some health issues (nothing serious just annoying and tiring). I've decided to give you a more general update rather detail everything that's been going on in the past few weeks.
On February 24th Bailey turned one year old! We celebrated with a hamburger birthday cake with Kong stuffing frosting. Mmmmmm!  We made the burger cake a bit big and when Bailey got it he didn't know how he should eat it. He basically ran around the yard with a big chunk of burger in his mouth. It was too big to eat but he refused to drop it because he was afraid we would take his prize away. Eventually my Mom got it away from him and cut it into smaller pieces for him to enjoy.
The week after that we visited my trainer and Bailey's brother Liam so that they could also have a birthday celebration together. My trainer invited some of their other poodle pals. They had a great time running around the tennis courts together and then all eight dogs enjoyed a frozen yogurt banana birthday cake. Here's a video from the celebration.


Bailey is back to work. He's doing so much better with his growling at people. Now when he's working he almost never growls. I'm so happy that I could start working him again. He's also doing way better with my various aides and even solicits attention from them. In hindsight I should have given him a break from working right when he came to live with me. I know now how stressful it was for him to make that transition. But now it's clear how much he loves it here and whenever I visit my trainer he tells me it's time to go back home after just a couple hours.
 In other big news Bailey has a couple new tricks up his sleeve. He now "speaks" on command and just a couple days ago learned how to "shake hands" with people. It's so cute and he picked it up in about 10 minutes.I think from now on with my blog I'm going to just give updates to my readers as bigger events and successes take place.

Week Seven

On Saturday I discovered Bailey has an ear infection again. So I made an appointment to have it checked out. When my Saturday aide came over Bailey was still very shy and wouldn't even walk past her. Because I am still not working Bailey and I had errands to run I left Bailey home alone for twenty minutes and he did great.
   So I planned to sit outside with him on Sunday at Starbucks but then I woke up that morning with a bad migraine. So that kind of ruined my plans. Bailey was really worried about me and even brought me over his favorite toy (the tick) to make me feel better. Awwwwww!
   On Monday I was feeling back to normal so we played fetch with the ball and Bailey was amazing. Later that day I took Bailey to a park near my house. The park is completely fenced except for one opening. We played fetch while Bailey was on the long leash. He wasn't bringing it back perfectly because I just wanted him to have fun and play whichever way he preferred. There were two little boys at the park following him at times and running around near to him at other times. Bailey was great and never barked or growled once at the noisy kids.
 Tuesday was Bailey's vet appointment. We had to wait in the lobby for quite a while until the vet could see us. Every one loved Bailey and was standing around him asking me questions and talking to him. He did great even with all of the attention. He does have an ear infection and their doing a culture to find out what kind since he JUST got over the last one. He also did great with all of the dogs in the waiting room, two Akita's, a golden and a Border Collie. When Bailey got home from the vet he surrounded himself with all of his favorite toys to comfort himself after his traumatic morning. Later that day I took Bailey for a walk and a man using a walker went passed us. I thought Bailey might be confused/scared of the walker but he paid the man no attention at all. Bailey hasn't been growling at my Dad so I was a bit surprised that he growled today when my Dad came home. I have no clue why.
  On Wednesday it was raining. Bailey loooooves the rain and had to be dried off a million times that day. Since we couldn't go outside we worked on the light switch. He followed me from room to room and when I stopped at a light switch Bailey would turn it on. What a good boy!
  Yesterday I had another trainer come and evaluate Bailey's shyness and growling. He growled at her when she came over(which I was hoping she would see him growling so that she could better evaluate the problem, so this was actually beneficial). She said he definitely has a lot of fear and it is something that needs to be addressed immediately. Luckily since he is so young she feels that he can probably overcome it with the proper training. Her evaluation was encouraging and I'm going to be working with her some more in the near future. Bailey was a lot better with my Thursday aide last night. He asked her for attention(which he never does normally) and hung out with her most of the night.
   Today I kind of had a "me day". I had a doctors appointment and afterwards went out to lunch. I left Bailey home with my Mom and she said he hung out with her the entire time.

Week Six

Saturday morning Bailey played fetch with my Mom. He's a pro now- gets the ball  and brings it back. My new aide came over on Saturday and Bailey was slightly better. When he was lying down in his bed he let her pet him. That evening I was watching animal planet and discovered Bailey was reacting to the dogs on the television program. He would start barking and then run from inside to outside the house looking for the other dog that he heard. This is definitely something we need to work on.
  On Sunday my Mom and I took Bailey to the park. It was full of people and dogs. We sat on a bench and let Bailey watch everything around him. He did well. He talked to some of the other dogs but was quickly redirected. He did growl at one man who had the hood on his sweatshirt over his head. But he let another man pet him.
  On Monday my Physical Therapist came over and Bailey did really well with her. He said Hi and even licked her hand.  Later that day we played go get help. Then I wanted to do an experiment. Because my aide is always the one who says "go get help" I was afraid Bailey would always associate the word 'help" with only her. So I asked my Mom to go hide outside and say "go get help". As soon as he heard those words Bailey dashed out of the house into the backyard to find her. What a good boy! I had a haircut appointment that day and decided to go in my manual chair instead of my electric one. I always take Bailey for a walk in my manual chair. So when I left he was a bit confused but did very well while I was gone. After I came back I did take him for a walk. On our walk we encountered four different dogs and Bailey did great. The first three dogs were always on the other side of the street when Bailey saw them. But the fourth dog walked past Bailey just a few feet away. Bailey did his bark/growl noise but was quickly redirected.
   On Tuesday we had a big day! For Christmas I asked my parents to schedule a photo shoot for me and Bailey. Today was the day. Bailey got a bath in the morning  so he would be handsome for his close up. After lunch we headed to Hollywood to an area that was full of people, smells and the city hustle. Bailey did amazing! We were there for over two hours and Bailey had to sit, lay, look at the camera and pose over and over. I can't tell you how impressed I was with his performance. After our shoot we both were exhausted and Bailey crashed out.
   So on Wednesday we both needed a chill day. We worked on go get help. Here is a video from the session.



After lunch we went on a walk at the Rose Bowl. Bailey did great. At one point three little dogs on a walk with their owner came up behind him. He looked back a couple times but that was all. Because I discovered that Bailey reacts to dogs on the TV, I wanted to play clips of dogs and work on quiet. Needless to say this is going to be a sloooow process.
  On Thursday we went to the college campus again. It was lunchtime so the campus was full of lots of noisy people. Bailey did great and even said Hi to a young man reading a book. He also did great when the gardeners were working in our yard later that day. He barked once to let us know they were here and then quickly settled back down.
  Today we played fetch with a tennis ball and boy did Bailey do great! He fetched and returned the ball about ten times in a row each time dropping it near to me. When the pool guy came over he let out one bark of acknowledgement and then totally ignored him. After lunch I wanted to take Bailey to the park This was his first time there and he loved it. It's a pretty big park and we played "go find Eva". It was so cute watching him run full speed across the park to find me.
This is two weeks of "operation no growl" and I know I said I planned to give Bailey two weeks off. However he is still growling so I know he needs more time. We'll do more socializing next week.

Week Five

This has been the first full week of "Operation No Growl". On Saturday we had a chill day. My weekend aide was here and Bailey is not that comfortable around her yet so he just hung around out back and ignored her. The challenge came when it was time to take Bailey for a walk. He would not go near her and when she would try to get close to him to attach his leash he just ran away. So we made it his decision to come to her and just waited.  My aide just ignored him but kept some peanut butter in her hand and pretty soon he came up to her and she was able to put the leash on him. He was totally fine after that and enjoyed his walk. Later that day my Mom's friends came over unexpectedly. Bailey didn't do much barking or growling and even was wagging his tail quite a bit, but at times still acted timid.
   On Sunday I left Bailey in the house without me for the very first time. Because I'm giving Bailey a work break, I couldn't bring him to the market. My Dad said that he just slept the entire time. When I returned home he was super excited to see me and gave me lots of kisses. Then my Dad and I took Bailey for a walk. He growled (talked) to some dogs he saw and was unsure of a passing woman who was wearing a hat. He growled mildly but was quickly redirected.
   On Monday we had a visit from the handyman. Bailey barked when he first came to the door but was really chill after that. He even hung around out back with him, but at a comfortable distance. When my physical therapist came Bailey was great with her and said hello. That day he also had a play date with his friend Lucy. They are a perfect pair. They play really nicely together. He play-bowed for the first time.  My friend and I had two very tired dogs that night. Here's a video form their play date.




Bailey has also mastered the doggy door. He now runs through it back and forth with no hesitation.
   Tuesday we worked on fetch and speak. He did well , he is such a pro at fetch and return. I also took him to the Occidental College campus again today. We just sat by the bookstore and eating area. I figured out one of his growling triggers...keys. I think Bailey associates the sound of keys with the sound of a dogs collar tags. Whenever he hears keys he seems to be looking around for another dog. Then we took Bailey to Petco. There he said Hi to another dog and overall did well.
   Wednesday was a very interesting day. Since I figured out Bailey was reactive to keys I wanted to start working on desensitizing him to the noise. So I thought if I had my Mom jangle some keys and then my aide tell Bailey "leave it" that he would start to ignore the noise. Boy was I wrong. I had my Mom jangle the keys from  the other side of the yard and Bailey went nuts. He kept barking and running back and forth around the yard even when all was quiet. I then tried to show him that it was a set of keys making the noise but he was so amped up that he couldn't even recognize that the noise was coming from the keys. After that Bailey was on edge all day and every little noise set him off. I thought it would be good to get him out of the house (and distracted from the incident) so we went down to the Rose Bowl for a walk. Bailey was a bit shy with the first person who tried to pet him, but after that was really calm, and never growled once. One woman who was petting Bailey told him that because she had a dog too that she was his "auntie". Ummmm...Okay?
   After that I had some errands to run so I decided to leave Bailey at home with my Mom. Because of the key incident Bailey was really agitated and barked the whole time I was gone. When I got home I brought Bailey into my room and closed the door. That made Bailey calm down and he soon took a nap. What a day!
  On Thursday Bailey was back to normal. We again went to the College for a walk. It was lunch time so the campus was full of people and noise. Bailey did awesome. At one point two dogs walked by. Bailey saw them but did not growl or bark at all. Yay!!! Later that day our pool man was in the backyard and Bailey didn't know it. When he saw him come around the corner he barked quickly to let us know but settled down right away.
  Today we met up with one of my old professors from the College. Because we were meeting him in a campus building I decided to put a vest on Bailey just for a short time. Bailey was a bit shy during our visit but just settled down next to me without any growling or barking. Bailey did stand up and give out a bark a couple different times (not sure what he was barking at) but he was quick to settle down again. Later today we went on a fun walk (where we were not trying to get him to say hi just have fun). The drama of today was the discovery my Mom made...Bailey had a tick! Since this is a new occurrence for me as a dog owner, my aide and I took to the internet for advice. I'm happy to say we successfully exterminated the tick. I found this odd because I give Bailey a monthly dose of sentinel which is supposed to deter ticks from clamping on to him. The most ironic thing happened today. My family got a package of thank you gifts from a friend of ours and inside was a present for Bailey. Guess what it was a  stuft animal Tick! Haha.
  I think Operation No Growl is already starting to work. I'm excited to see how well he does next week.

Week four

This past Saturday Bailey and I just chilled. On Sunday Bailey and I went to the mall with my Mom. We went into one shop and my Mom went into the dressing room to try on some clothes. We stayed outside and Bailey just laid down next to me the entire time. What a good boy! Then we went to get some ice cream. When we sat down to eat the table next to us was full of loud teenagers. Bailey was nervous at first and growled a little bit in their direction. My Mom kept talking calmly to him and he quickly settled down. After that he didn't give the teenagers any more of his attention. After the mall we stopped at Ralph's and Bailey did really well inside the grocery store.
  On Monday we played "go find Eva" (his favorite game) and did a round of fetch. He definitely understands fetch now. After our afternoon walk we went to Starbucks. Bailey did great inside the store but on the way out saw another big dog and made a fuss. He wanted to say "Hi" pretty bad but I redirected his attention.
  Tuesday was a big day. First we worked on fetch aka "go get it". He did really well. Then I wanted to work on his "stay" command. Sometimes when we're playing "go find Eva" he gets so excited that he doesn't wait for the command before he runs to find me. So I had my aide tell Bailey to "stay" and then walk to the other side of our yard. Bailey didn't want to stay and as she was telling him to stay he growled at her defiantly. We both cracked up at his mini temper tantrum. Eventually he did really great with his stay command.
  On this day I also made a big decision about Bailey's training. I'm giving Bailey a break from work for the next few weeks. I need to work on his confidence with strangers so we're going back to the basics. Because I want Bailey to feel comfortable around all people I'm taking him out as a pet to encourage more positive interactions with strangers. I'm also letting people pet him so that he will feel comfortable and not growl or cower away from them. So on this day we went to the Occidental College campus where I knew he would encounter lots of new people. He let three different women pet him and took a piece of steak out of each of their hands. But he still acted a little shy around them. He enjoyed this walk around the campus and didn't growl at anybody.
 On Wednesday I began training a new aide. Bailey was a bit intimidated by this new person but did take treats from her. Later that day we went to Petco. We were walking through the store when Bailey suddenly began to growl and bark very agitated. My aide and I looked around and couldn't figure out what he was upset about. Then we realized he was standing in front of a display that included three fake dog mannequins made out of white cloth. We started busting up with laughter. We showed Bailey the fake dogs and once he sniffed them he was no longer interested in them at all. Also in the store Bailey said hi to a man and a woman without growling. At the check out Bailey also greeted three little dogs without making a scene.
  On Thursday Bailey made a visit to the vet's office. He was there for a follow up exam to check on his ear and I wanted to do the preliminary x-rays that would identify if he had any early signs of  hip or elbow issues.
During the visit Bailey was very chatty to a Rottweiler sitting next to him. Part of the time when Bailey is growling he's actually just talking. I can tell because sometimes he's in a very comfortable posture and is just kind of tilting his head back and half boofing half growling. He also did really well with the vet and her technician. He stayed very calm around them and let them pet him. Bailey was given a clean bill of health and his joints look perfect. Yay!!! This is major news because if Bailey showed any signs of future joint problems then I would not be able to have him as my Service Dog. He was much better with my Physical Therapist this day and let her pet him as well.
 I started a new command on Thursday "speak". The tactic I used was to just introduce the command and often when a dog can't figure something out he/she will bark in frustration. At that point you praise them for "speaking". Well when Bailey was told to speak he used every trick that he knew to try to get the treat in my aides hand. He sat down, he laid down,he rolled over,he gave me kisses and at one point he jumped up off the ground excitedly as if he had figured it out and then proceeded to run around the yard in a quick circle. It was hysterical. Bailey did become frustrated but never made a peep!
  Today I wanted to work on speak again and the same thing happened. So I tried a new technique. I played a cd of barking dogs which of course caused Bailey to bark. When he did he was given tons of praise saying "good speak" along with his new favorite treat, freeze dried liver. He started to understand and after a few minutes was speaking on command. We then gave Bailey a bath and headed over to the Rose Bowl for an afternoon walk. He let five different strangers, including three men pet him without being shy. This was an excellent week.

Bailey's third week

So last Saturday I met up with some friends of mine for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. I of course brought Bailey. It was his first time meeting my two friends and he was a bit nervous at first but didn't growl or bark at all. And soon he was taking pieces of steak from each of them. We were there for over two hours and Bailey did amazing! He laid down on his mat the entire time except for one instance. An employee began sweeping the carpet near to Bailey and since this was a new thing he did stand up and let out a bark. But he quickly settled back down on his mat and had no more to talk about after that. The next day Bailey and I enjoyed a day of just chillin.
On Monday I began teaching Bailey a new task. When somebody hands me something such as a credit card, brochure etc. There is always an awkward moment when this happens, because people don't realize I can't grab something out of their hands. So I want Bailey to reach out and gently take it out of their hand and drop it onto my lap. Bailey is not a mouthy dog, meaning he really doesn't like to carry most things in his mouth. and has no interest in fetch. So I am working on the command "hold" and asking him to hold something in his mouth until I say "drop". Even though it was our first time doing this he seems to get it since these are natural behaviors for him that I'm building off of. After that we played hide and seek and he did great!
On our walk we saw a man hanging out in someones yard. It was hard to tell if he lived there and was inspecting the bushes or if he was a random guy. He looked a bit frazzled and was in pajama looking clothes so it was a little hard to tell. He did say hi to us but since I was unsure about him Bailey and I didn't stay too long. Bailey did growl at the man, but I just walked him away. We did see another dog being walked on the other side of the street. He saw Bailey and really wanted to say hi. But Bailey was great and just ignored him. We then took him to the grocery store and he did awesome.
On Tuesday we worked on "hold and drop" again with Bailey's kong toy. He did well. At one point he dropped the kong on the ground and it bounced off the concrete and landed perfectly in my lap.That was pretty funny. During our game of hide and seek he came bounding through the house to find me and did a comical slip and slide across the wood floors. When we were getting ready to go out Bailey heard our neighbors cat Thunder for the first time. When Thunder is in our yard he is very Very talkative and wants desperately to be invited into our house. Bailey started barking and became very excited about this new presence. I certainly need to work on Bailey's new distraction...cats! Because of this Bailey was kind of distracted when I was running my errands, but still did pretty good.
On Wednesday we practiced the light with me just rolling up to the switch and looking at it. He got it immediately and did this several times with different light switches throughout the house. My trainer also came over for a visit this day and Bailey was super excited to see her and started wiggling all over the place. Very cute! She brought him some presents, a new ball and a stuft free beaver toy which he loooooves! Later we went to Starbucks and a man came up to Bailey which made him growl with anxiety. Luckily the man was really cool and talked to us for a minute. Pretty soon Bailey was going up to him comfortably and seeking a pat on the head. Yay progress!
  On Thursday we played "Go get help". At one point my aide hid under our writing desk and Bailey became so confused trying to find her. He ran around in circles (right past her a few times) until he finally looked down instead of up and saw her. It was so cute. During another round I was inside with Bailey while my aide went to hide and Bailey turned on the light in the dining room without me asking him to. Later we played the hold and drop game but this time tried to ad "fetch" into the mix. He's starting to get the idea that when someone throws something he should bring it back and not just run away with it (chase is his favorite game). My physical therapist came over and this is the first time she's hung out with him since he's been home. Because she took my advice and immediately ignored him after walking in he didn't do his usual growl/bark routine and after a while came in and sniffed her. At one point my PT and my aide were in conversation and Bailey was being completely ignored so he walked over to the wall and turned on the light switch to get our attention. Too funny!
  Today was Bailey's first play date with his old buddies back at my trainer's house. We drove over to her house and at first Bailey didn't seem to care about where we were at. But then we went out back and he saw all of his friends, including his brother and became super excited. He played and played and played. After that we came back home and Bailey crashed out. We took him to Starbucks and he did great.
Bailey is finally comfortable here and I notice he's sleeping a lot more. I also feel much better. For the first two weeks I felt like I had to know where he was 24/7. That meant little to no relaxing time for me. This week while I have been working on the computer I have been able to just let him do his own thing. I have felt much more relaxed and I think he has noticed that.Here's a video of Bailey's first play date.

Bailey's second week at home

So last Saturday I got woken up at 7:30am by my dog. Apparently Bailey needed to go to the bathroom and decided the best way to get my attention would be to turn on the lights. I cracked up! On Sunday we went to the supermarket and he did well. Okay so I now realize I need to start making notes everyday because I'm totally blanking on what we did Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I took Bailey to his new Vet for a basic check up. I loved her! She gave Bailey a clean bill of health (minus a small ear infection). Later that day my friend Lauren brought over her dog Lucy for a play date. OMG did they have fun! They were zooming around the yard and both of them were very tired at the end of their play date. Here's a video from that afternoon.



On Thursday I worked with Bailey on using the doggy door. He was a bit hesitant but got it pretty quickly. But I'm still not confident that he will use it on his own when he needs to "get busy". This will come. That afternoon we paid a visit to the local fire station. I wanted to expose Bailey to more encounters with men and my trainer recommended a fire station. I brought along some juicy steak (which I've never given to him before) and every time he relaxed around the fire men he got a piece. Eventually one of the fireman was able to hand him a piece of steak without him getting nervous.
   Today we played "go get help" and even though it's been a while he did great and remembered how to play the game better than my aide. Then it was bath time. Bailey was a super star and even though he didn't like getting a bath he stood quietly during the whole procedure. Today at Starbucks it was teenager city! He did great considering the whole place was packed with giggly, chatty teenagers who kept bumping in to him. He even let one girl pet him and showed no signs of nervousness. He is much more comfortable here than last week.

First week home

Happy New Year everyone! So I picked up Bailey on Monday and he was clean and poofy. My trainer was definitely a bit sad to see him go. When we got home I brought Bailey into my bedroom and showed him his new bed and toys. I knew that he would be a little nervous his first day/night with me. So I didn't want to work on any tasks I just wanted to let him get use to his new home in his own way. That night he was pretty restless and paced my room, not knowing exactly what he was supposed to do. So that night I pretty much got no sleep.
  Tuesday was also a chill day and Bailey seemed to be a bit more comfortable. I took Bailey on his first walk in his new neighborhood and he really seemed to enjoy it. We also went to Starbucks and Bailey was "on duty". He did great! Later  that day I received Bailey's new crate. This crate is a bit different than your normal metal box. Because I knew I would not need a big crate set up in my room 24/7  I decided to buy a collapsible one. The one I got is very similar to a camping tent and is tall enough for him to stand in. So I thought "Great I'll be able to get some sleep tonight". Oh how wrong I was. That night I put Bailey in his new crate and he began pacing within it. So instead of hearing clicking toenails on my wood floor I heard swishing and crinkling noises as Baileys paws moved over the nylon tent material. So I just let him back out. He actually did really good and settled into his bed for the rest of the night.
  On Wednesday we had a big day! One of my friends from the online SD community was visiting L.A. and we went to meet up with her. I took Bailey to his first metro station to meet up with my friend and her SD Max. Bailey did awesome and ignored a little dog he saw and the loud trains flying by. When he saw Max he barked and was a little apprehensive. But after a few minutes he warmed up and wanted to play. Max definitely wanted to play too.
  So we took the boys to a large picnic area in Griffith Park. My plan was to put Bailey on a twenty foot leash and let him play with Max. But Bailey had other ideas. We got to the park and took off their SD gear. Boy were they excited. As we were walking out onto the lawn area Bailey and Max were jumping around one another and the snap on Bailey's new collar (first day wearing it by the way) came undone. Bailey took off happily running full speed away from us. I was a bit nervous but luckily the park was almost completely empty so I didn't have to worry about cars, kids and other dogs.
  He zoomed by us with a big smile on his face a couple of times before he finally stopped and sat down. We put his collar back on and walked a little further on the field. Then it happened again and I knew that he had a defective collar. So we put the collar on one more time and I just decided since the boys were having so much fun and we were in such a secluded area that I would let him play off leash. Boy were they happy. It was so awesome to see them playing and chasing each other around the park.I could tell Bailey definitely needed to blow off some energy. Surprisingly Bailey was very cool with my Max's mom. Usually he's a bit shy. But he let her pet him and took treats from her. I think seeing Max interact with her helped Bailey to quickly figure out she was a friend. Bailey definitely slept like a rock that night. Yay!!!
  On Thursday I took Bailey to Petsmart (guess what for) and Old Navy. He did great! Of course being in Petsmart surrounded by other animal lovers Bailey got tons of attention. But he was "on duty" and did really well ignoring all of the people and other dogs. At Old Navy he did fabulous. But was kinda freaked out for a moment when he saw the headless mannequins. Those things kind of freak me out too. I have decided to alter my "no-petting" policy. I think that because I have been so strict about it that he now gets a little nervous when people come up to him. I want to show him that there is nothing to worry about. So right now I am going to let select strangers pet him. I think I have nothing to worry about concerning him soliciting attention so I don't think that will be a problem. He slept very well last night.
   Today we started up with his task training again. I brought him into my bedroom and my aide asked him to "get the light". At first he kept hitting the doorknob and trying to push it up. (the knob is right next to the light switch). It was pretty cute. But soon he realized the knob wasn't moving and he turned on the light many times. We then did hide and seek, and he did pretty good. He's much more comfortable here now. All in all a very good first week.

Training Day 55- Last One (kinda)

So today was the last day that I went to my trainer's to work with Bailey. Next week if I get a chance to visit him it will only be to hang out and not for training. On January 3rd I will be bringing him home and the training will be less scheduled and more randomly throughout the day. I have been thinking about how I want to continue the blog. Blogging every day will get very boring for my readers (and for me). So I will be posting blogs every Friday to give a recap of the weeks training, unless something blog worthy occurs that just can't wait until Friday. I feel Bailey is ready to come home and I think having him here will speed up his learning of tasks/strengthen our bond even further.
So when we got there today Bailey was in his crate. He was tap-dancing to get out and once the door opened he immediately gave me kisses. We had a little visitor today. A fifteen year old poodle mix named Louie. My trainer asked if he could stay in the den with us since the dogs out back were getting rowdy. So I started Bailey off with the light switch today and it's become waaaay to easy for him. Bailey kept turning the light on over and over without being asked and with no hesitation in between.
We then moved out back to work on an old favorite- auto sit. Bailey was pretty rusty and needed reminding. But once his memory was sparked he was right on every time. At one point I was walking Bailey and an adorable chocolate doodle was let out of the tennis courts to head home with her owner. She came around the corner and saw Bailey with me. For a moment she just stared and then suddenly put her front paws forward and bent her head down, butt straight up in the air, almost looking as though she were about to attack Bailey. But it was her way of getting ready to attack play! She jumped up from her crouch and bullet sped towards Bailey, tail wagging, ready to wrestle. Bailey said hello but kept his cool since he knew he was working. The whole thing was so cute!
After auto sit I took Bailey to get busy and then we went back in the den for some chill time. He crashed out instantly and slept like a rock. Soon we had lunch and then it was play time! I wanted to be there for one last play time in the side yard because I really enjoy watching him play with all his buddies. Here is a video of Bailey playing with his friend Charlie. Sooo cute!
Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate!

Training Day 54-Home visit #2

My trainer offered to drop off Bailey at my house today. My aide went outside and got him out of car and brought him into the house. She said he was eagerly looking around the dining room for me, and as soon as he saw me in the bedroom he jumped up on me and gave me some "hello" kisses. He seemed a lot more comfortable today in the house than he did the first time he was here. He walked around the house with his head up and seemed to know where he was going. Also, once I took him off leash he immediately settled onto his bed and began to chew his bone. Last time it took him a while before he relaxed and used the things I had bought him. Even then he merely pushed the bone around curiously but never actually took ownership of it.
  So after a bit of chill time I wanted to try the light switch task on my actual light switches throughout my bedroom. He did amazing. He turned on the lights every time. First I had him turn on the one in my bedroom a few times and then we moved into the bathroom and I asked him to turn on that one as well. Then I put him back on leash and I took him into the living room to decorate the Christmas tree we got a couple day ago. He just settled down next to me and watched all the activity. Sadly it's raining today so I couldn't take him outside for play time. My aide did take him to get busy when there were lulls in the rain storm. At lunch time I had Bailey on leash with me and he did great! He just settled down next to me while I ate and chatted with my aide. After lunch it was time for me to "get busy". I decided to chance it and let Bailey off leash. He did great!  In fact he went over to his bed and just laid down. My teeth brushing didn't seem as interesting to him this time. ( I was kind of bummed because I had my camera ready for Bailey's cute look). After that we took him back to my trainer's house. I was sad to drop him off but I know he's coming home soon.  Here are some pictures of Bailey chilling on his bed.

Training Day 53-Presents!

So when I got there today Bailey and his friend Lucy (a pit bull, not his Chihuahua girlfriend) were hanging out in the den. My trainer asked if I wanted her to take Lucy out of the room and I said no. Lucy is usually pretty mellow and I thought things would remain calm. Boy was I wrong. Bailey greeted me with tons of kisses and tail wagging. I think his excitement was infectious because Lucy seemed pretty happy to see me too. When my aide left the room to put our lunch away the two dogs saw something outside and went totally nuts. My aide came back into the room when she heard all of the fuss. She described what she saw as the equivalent of 40 kindergartners running around during recess on a sugar high. All of Bailey's manners disappeared. Lucy and Bailey were zooming around the den, barking and jumping on and off the furniture over and over. We tried to get them in line and they would momentarily sit but as soon as we blinked they'd be back at it. After a couple minutes they calmed down and began to listen. It was pretty funny,all that chaos.
I wanted to actually get some training done, so we put Lucy in the crate to rest. It was a good distraction for Bailey actually, because he could still see her while we were training. We did the light switch and Bailey did awesome. He is a lot more confident jumping and didn't hesitate at all today. We then worked on "leave it"  and Bailey was a pro. Lucy's Dad came to pick her up so Bailey had no more distractions.
  In one of the SD forums I participate in, some of the SD owners decided to do a Secret Santa gift exchange. Luckily right as I was leaving today my package arrived from my Secret Santa. So since Lucy was now out of the room, I thought it would be a good time for Bailey and I to open our package. Bailey was so excited and couldn't hold still for pictures. He kept sniffing the package all over and wagging his tail. Then once the box was open he shoved his face into it to see what was inside. It was so cute! Here are some shots from Bailey's first gift opening.After that it was chill time and Bailey crashed out.

  Once he had a good rest I wanted to do the light one more time. He did great. After that it was lunch time. Bailey crashed out again. After that my aide took Bailey out to "get busy". I think he's trying to act like a grown up because my aide said for the first time ever, he kind of lifted his leg while getting busy. But he was still leaning forward at the same time and positioned in the middle of the lawn. Funny boy. After that we put Bailey in his crate and headed home.
Over the weekend my trainer took Bailey, his brother Liam and her dog Magic to visit Santa. She said Bailey was great and wasn't shy around Santa at all. I was honestly kind of surprised, I mean a fat man in a red suit with a giant beard can be kind of scary sometimes.