Outing

As you might remember about one month ago I presented at a a class for special ed teachers. Well today I presented at a class for physical therapists and naturally Bailey came along. I went to my Trainer's house and had my aide go in and get Bailey vested up and ready to go. When she went inside Bailey was in the kitchen area with a couple other dogs and was super excited that she was there, but when she opened the gate he ran around the living room looking for me.She put him on his leash and took him out to my van. Bailey just had a hair cut so she paraded him around the driveway as if he was on a catwalk so that I could check out his new look. We then drove to the campus for my lecture.
When we got there I wanted to see if Bailey needed to go pee so I walked him around a grassy area next to the parking lot. We then went into the classroom and I put Baileys mat down next to me. He laid down on it immediately. He seemed less distracted by the students standing around him than the last time we were here. He did try to visit with the students sitting next to him on the floor but for the most part he was awesome and stayed right by my side. After that I just took him home and headed out. It was a quick but successful day.
When I arrived home I found out my insurance company is going to pay for 85% of the vet bills I acquired when Bailey had a stomach problem. Yay!!!!

Training Day 31-What an awesome day!

Today was a breakthrough day. When I first got there today Bailey was in his crate barking excitedly at my arrival. I took Bailey outside for an auto-sit session and realized that all of the eight dogs at my trainers house right now were still in the tennis courts and about to make their chaotic way through the back yard where I was sitting with Bailey. Normally I try to avoid this huge distraction and take Bailey outside after the dogs are gone.  But since I was already out there I thought "what the hell let's see what happens". Bailey was leashed to me and in a sit position when 10 million (or so it seemed) dogs came racing through the yard and bounding and hopping all around Bailey excitedly.  In particular his brother Liam was trying to get him to play pretty persuasively. Bailey just stood there like a polite professional service dog and definitely told his brother through body language "hey Dude I'm working right now". Awesome! So then I started  a session of auto-sit since Bailey is really good at that. Then I brought out my new contraption for light switch training. My aide put a light switch on a small piece of plywood and then added a little plastic piece to the end of the switch to make it bigger. The idea was to attach this board to the side of my wheel chair with the switch on it, in hopes that it would recapture Baileys interest since it was attached to me and we were "working". At first it seemed he wasn't interested and I was getting bummed out. He laid down next to me and let out a little whine. We decided that the session was over and my aide took the board off my chair. But after she took it off she held it up in front of him as a last attempt and he suddenly showed interest and immediately put his nose to the switch. We praised him like crazy, and re-encouraged we kept going. Now every time my aide said "get the light " he put his nose up to the switch and even flipped it up quite a few times. We of course went nuts with excitement. It seems that his interest has been rekindled towards the light switch task. Then we went inside and Bailey crashed out.
 I let Bailey have a well deserved break after the awesome morning. But I really wanted to reinforce the light switch task, so after his rest we tried again. This time we did it inside and I left him off leash. I want it to be fun for Bailey and it's important that it is his choice to want to do/figure out this task. He did great even though he was rewarded with peanut butter instead of his favorite chicken (we had run out of  from rewarding him so much earlier). He flipped the switch several times. I'm so proud of him! Then it was lunch time and Bailey crashed out again.
After lunch I wanted to reward Bailey with some play time in the side yard with all his friends. We were tossing him and his brother the ball for a while and suddenly I feel a dog on top of me. My aide was standing next to me and since Bailey and his brother Liam were so excited  while playing she decided to tell Liam to give me kisses hoping that Bailey would see how it's done. But when she said "give Eva kisses' it was Bailey that immediately jumped up on my lap with no hesitation and began licking my face.  I was so surprised that for a moment I thought it was Liam. Bailey had never ever jumped up on me without assistance before. My aides mouth dropped to the floor and we were squealing in happy shock. He got tons of praise and once he jumped off of me my aide said once again "give kisses" and he jumped on me for a second time. I was so happy!  After such a great event, we just chilled out and let all the dogs run around and play together.
When it was time to head out my trainer said that she would call all the dogs into the house so that I could have an easy exit. She excitedly called Liam and Bailey in last and Bailey went towards her and then decided no. He turned around and came over to me and would not leave my side for anything. So instead I took him into the house through another door myself. What a good way to start the weekend.

Training Day 30

So today was a little different. My mom came to visit Bailey at my Trainer's house. She had seen Bailey the very first day he was in Southern California about three months ago and hadn't seen him since. Bailey was excited to see her. We visited for a while and then we did a bell session to show off what a good boy Bailey is. Then we tried "give kisses". Since we had another set of hands we had my aide call to Bailey while holding a treat in my lap and had my Mom put Bailey's paws on my chair to get the treat. He would eat the treat but he would never jump up himself to get it. It's funny- most puppy owners are trying to get their dogs NOT to jump on them and I'm desperately trying to get him TO jump on me.
So after we visited I took Bailey out to get busy and then it was time for lunch. Bailey just slept all through lunch. After lunch we did a "leave it" session. We started out with peanut butter and Bailey didn't touch it. Then we added chicken liver Kong treat on top of the peanut butter to up the ante. He still didn't try to touch it. Then we added his favorite treat, chicken. He was tempted by the chicken and went for it one time but was easily and quickly redirected. The one time he tried to get the chicken he scooted up to the piece on the floor, moved in for the bite and literally had his tongue within 2 millimeters of the chicken. My aide said "leave it" and he looked up at her, tongue still sticking out and then quickly pulled back. What a good boy! Since it was still raining today I put Bailey back in the kitchen to play with his buddies and we left a little bit early.

Training Day 29

So today I had to go to Bailey's house a little later than usual. He was super excited to see me and I could hear him barking for me as soon as I opened the door to the van in the driveway. We tried the dreaded light switch today. I had bought some new red colored plastic tubes to put on the switch hoping that the new color and shape might draw his attention to the task, but no. He seemed even less interested than usual. This light switch dilemma stumps me. Bailey is usually so easy to teach a new task to . And I can definitely tell he is frustrated because he doesn't even seem interested in the switch anymore and isn't trying to figure out like he use to do.
So after our light switch disaster we tried the "give kisses" command. He does it with my aide (jumps up on her lap) but he doesn't do it with me. I honestly think he is afraid to get up on me. Because he gives me kisses but does it by putting his head in my lap instead of actually putting his paws up on my chair.
So after two unsuccessful training activities I, the genius, decided to take Bailey outside for an auto-sit session right away. I was still kind of frustrated and I could tell Bailey was too. So he didn't do so well.  I should have given him a break before taking him outside. Bad trainer! So after that it was get busy time and then lunch.
After lunch I really had to use the restroom so my aide and I left our plates (with food still on them) on the den table and left the room. Bailey was alone and loose in the den and out of our sight. He was such a good boy he didn't touch any of the tempting left overs from our lunch (meat, cheese a doggy daydream). This was not planned but ended up being a great training opportunity and a nice successful surprise.
After that I wanted to try one more auto sit session since Bailey had now had a break from his frustrating morning. He did a lot better this time. After that we took Bailey into the side yard to play. Bailey is now suddenly playing fetch like an expert. My aide was stunned and asked me "how the hell did he figure that out overnight?" , nobody knows why he all the sudden "loves" fetch, which he had zero interest in before. But I'm excited about this new play opportunity. So after fetch we left for the day.

Training Day 28

When I got to my trainer's house, Bailey was in the kitchen with my trainer. He was so happy to see me he started his "happy dance". My trainer wanted to take him to get busy before giving him to me, but I knew he was too distracted to go. I did bell training and he's very good at it now. Then it was hide and seek time! He did excellent. Once reason I like hide and seek is because it reinforces his verbal commands. Now you might be like "why does that matter? You are non-verbal." My aides will always have to handle him to a degree- whether it's a potty break or I'm out of the room for some reason. He needs to behave as well with my aides as he does with me. So after hide and seek it was nap time. I did auto sit after he woke up. Despite a loud and obnoxious beagle that my trainer is boarding, Bailey did well. He's getting to the point where he sits and looks at me vs just sitting. I tried the "give kisses" command again but he is still not into it. Despite encouragement, he is still nervous he will hurt me. Hopefully practicing will ease his worries. After that it was lunch time and Bailey just slept. An awesome thing happened- the beagle was barking her head off and Bailey did not react. No little woofs or anything. I was so proud. After lunch it was play time. Remember when I said Bailey was not a fetch dog? Well it seems like he's kind of getting the game. He chases the ball and will sometimes bring it back vs just watching it. His brother came home and they are just so cute together. Next week for hide and seek, my aide will be the hider and I will be the one telling bailey via head movement to "go get help".  We'll see how that goes.

Training Day 27

So today when I got to my Trainer's house Bailey was inside of his crate  and was so excited to see me. When my aide let him out she had forgotten to shut the gate to the den and he he began joyously bounding through the living room in a wiggly, hopping, happy dance. Since he had so much energy I decided we should play hide and seek first thing today. Instead of calmly walking next to me on the way to the tennis courts he  raced ahead of me, running over the pool cover,  and flew towards the entrance to the courts. Once he got to the entrance and realized that I wasn't quite as fast he was he trotted back to my side and walked with me the rest of the way. Hide and seek was great, I love watching him enthusiastically run towards me when he's told "go find Eva". He got tired pretty quickly because it was so hot out today, so our game was a little shorter than usual. We went back inside and Bailey crashed out within seconds.
After a little rest I did an auto-sit session on leash today and he did really well. Then we switched his leash and it was time for him to "get busy". He peed quickly. We then tried something new. Some trainers use a technique called "do it" to teach new tasks. The idea is you get your dog to copy what you are doing when you give the command "do it". So I had my aide sit and then tell Bailey "do it" and when he sat he was rewarded. She also did this with the down command (laying down on the ground command). We only did this for a short while but he seemed to understand what was being asked of him. I'm hoping this "copy me" method will help him to learn to use the light switch.
After lunch I employed Bailey's brother Liam to show Bailey it's okay to put his paws on my wheel chair and give me kisses.  Liam got the idea behind the saying "give kisses" immediately and once Bailey saw his brother doing it he wanted to do it too. He was at first a little hesitant still to put his weight on me but once my aide put his front feet on my chair he visibly relaxed and began licking my face for a long time. I'm confident that now he knows it's okay, that he will do it without hesitation next time. I know for sure that he understands the command because whenever my aide says "give kisses" even if he doesn't get on my chair he puts his head in my lap and starts licking my arm happily. Today I leave you with another cute video of Bailey playing and galloping around the side yard with his brother Liam.

Training Day 26

I always love Tuesdays. Bailey is always excited to see me after his three day weekend. Today he was in his crate when I got to my Trainer's house. He excitedly wagged his tail and wiggled around in his crate when he saw me. My Trainer however told me she took Bailey to Wal-Mart over the weekend and discovered Bailey might have a little fear of kids. This surprised me because last Friday the Mall was crawling with kids and he seemed to have no problem with them at all. My Trainer said he let out a little growl when he saw one of  the children in Wal-Mart approaching him. I am truly shocked because Bailey has never shown any fear of children in any of the other public places we've been. In fact other than the one time he growled at the woman who startled him (and we were just getting to know each other) he has never growled at anything. Anyway my Trainer wasn't too worried about it and said she was going to start walking him around playgrounds and other heavy kid zones to get him use to seeing a lot of children.
 So first we worked on bell training today, and he's getting almost 100%. Then it was time for hide and seek and he did great! He really loves this game and sometimes he "cheats" and starts to run and find me before he's told to. But when he does this he has to go back and start over. Hide and seek not only tires him out mentally but he gets exercise as well. So after hide and seek it was nap time.
After his thirty minute nap I wanted to do a round of auto-sit, but today I wanted to try it without him being on leash. I put his vest and leash on him and did one round of auto-sit just to get him in working mode. Then I took the leash off (and still kept his vest on). For a seven month old puppy he did remarkably well. He did sometimes stray from my side to sniff something interesting but was quickly redirected back to me . For the most part he heeled by my side and sat every time I stopped my wheel chair. The funny part was even when he was sniffing something about fifteen feet away from me he would suddenly notice that I had stopped my wheel chair and he would sit.  So after about three laps around the pool Bailey was tired and napped all through lunch.

After lunch I wanted to try the new "give kisses" command and have Bailey get up on my lap and lick me. He was not happy about this and was kind of confused. My aide would put his paws on my wheel chair and then say the command and give him treats. But he didn't seem into it. I think he was worried he would hurt me by getting on my chair/lap. I realize now that part of the reason Bailey would lick me when the lab was on top of me last week was because he was worried the lab might be hurting me.  Tomorrow I hope to use his brother (who has no hesitation about jumping up on people) to show Bailey that it is okay to put his front paws on my lap. We also tried to rinforce the head commands for sit and stay by having me and my aide do the head commands at the same time while verbally saying them. He didn't get it and seemed a bit confused by our exagerated head movements, hopefully this will eventually come too. I put him in his crate and then it was time to go. I leave you with a video of Bailey enjoying (figuring out how to enjoy) his new treat, carrots.