My Angel With Paws is a finalist for the Toyota 100 Cars for Good Program. Please go to http://apps.facebook.com/carsforgood/ and vote for My Angel With Paws today (June 17, 2011) We could a win a new Toyota that we so desperately need.
You can check out the video I made for contest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH7rmPfRT2E
Random stories, thoughts and happenings while training service dogs
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
It shouldn't be this easy....
Darby has impressed me twice today. The first was when I took him and Serena for a walk. He has been very good about staying in a heel between me and Serena. Actually that is the only spot he has ever known that we take walks in. I took them to the ravine by my house and let them off leash. Serena ran around like a crazy woman up and down the hills. Darby was very unsure of the whole thing but took it all in stride. It took me awhile to realize that even though he was still off leash he was still in a perfect heel. Anytime he would stray away from the heel he would freak out and find it again. Apparently I have made heel the safety zone. Of course every time he was in heel he would get tons of praise and encouragement. He spent the entire walk in the ravine like that. Then when we walked home from the ravine on leash he still marched along delightfully. Amazing little puppy!
The second impressive thing he did today was during feeding time. The routine is Serena gets both bowls, they get filled in the pantry, I bring them to the kitchen, mix in water and anything else they need, then go over to where they eat. Serena eats on the left and Darby eats on the right. Serena knows to sit and wait until I tell her it is okay to eat, even if her bowl in on the ground she is not allowed to move until I say okay. I have started making Darby sit before dinner and yesterday I added him waiting while I put the food down. I only make him wait for a couple seconds but to him that is torture and usually I have to hold his collar or keep a hand in front him. Today I go to make him sit and he is no where near me. I look around and see him sitting across he kitchen waiting. I put his food down and he doesn't move!!!! I say okay Darby, release and he takes off across the kitchen, slides into his food bowl and starts eating. WOW! Darby is one awesome puppy though I might be a tad bit bias ;-)
Yesterday I had Dory (http://www.doryltuohey.com/) come out to take pictures of me and Reggie. Of course I snuck in a couple with Serena and Darby. This one was just too cute I couldn't resist posting it.
The second impressive thing he did today was during feeding time. The routine is Serena gets both bowls, they get filled in the pantry, I bring them to the kitchen, mix in water and anything else they need, then go over to where they eat. Serena eats on the left and Darby eats on the right. Serena knows to sit and wait until I tell her it is okay to eat, even if her bowl in on the ground she is not allowed to move until I say okay. I have started making Darby sit before dinner and yesterday I added him waiting while I put the food down. I only make him wait for a couple seconds but to him that is torture and usually I have to hold his collar or keep a hand in front him. Today I go to make him sit and he is no where near me. I look around and see him sitting across he kitchen waiting. I put his food down and he doesn't move!!!! I say okay Darby, release and he takes off across the kitchen, slides into his food bowl and starts eating. WOW! Darby is one awesome puppy though I might be a tad bit bias ;-)
Yesterday I had Dory (http://www.doryltuohey.com/) come out to take pictures of me and Reggie. Of course I snuck in a couple with Serena and Darby. This one was just too cute I couldn't resist posting it.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
puppy puppy puppy
It has been almost a week since I picked up Mr. Darby. He is an absolute joy. The first few days of waking up every 2 hours were rough but now he is almost sleeping through the night and even went and put himself in his crate when it was time for bed! We have been working on a few basic service dog commands and he tries so hard to please me! So far we have worked on:
-Sit: I just have him follow a treat into the position. He doesn't know the word yet but has figured out that if he wants something he will probably get it if he sits
-Down: Again he doesn't know the word but happily will follow a treat down to the ground and stay there
-Heel: He just knows the position by default. I purposely walk him between me and Serena so he has know where to be but in a heel. Every so often he scampers around me but is easily brought back between us. Thank god for Serena. She makes it so much easier!!
-Darby: He is still trying to learn his name. I think it just clicked that Darby means something when I say it to him and he get all excited. I think only a couple more days and he will have this one
-Tug: He really loves to play with toys so we play tug all the time. I just say the word a lot when he is tugging and eventually that should turn into a command.
-Bring it here: he likes to pick up socks (as you probably saw in the video) so I just say "bring it here" when he is run towards me and praise him a lot when he brings it to me.
Training him has been way too easy. Puppies are so moldable and trainable if you just capture stuff they do anyway. Who knew!!
-Sit: I just have him follow a treat into the position. He doesn't know the word yet but has figured out that if he wants something he will probably get it if he sits
-Down: Again he doesn't know the word but happily will follow a treat down to the ground and stay there
-Heel: He just knows the position by default. I purposely walk him between me and Serena so he has know where to be but in a heel. Every so often he scampers around me but is easily brought back between us. Thank god for Serena. She makes it so much easier!!
-Darby: He is still trying to learn his name. I think it just clicked that Darby means something when I say it to him and he get all excited. I think only a couple more days and he will have this one
-Tug: He really loves to play with toys so we play tug all the time. I just say the word a lot when he is tugging and eventually that should turn into a command.
-Bring it here: he likes to pick up socks (as you probably saw in the video) so I just say "bring it here" when he is run towards me and praise him a lot when he brings it to me.
Training him has been way too easy. Puppies are so moldable and trainable if you just capture stuff they do anyway. Who knew!!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
DARBY!!!!!!
It is official, he is named Darby after a small area in Labrador, Canada. Here is a video I put together of Darby's first day of service dog training.
This is when I picked him up from the Sandi:
Jack and Serena meeting their new brother:
What a ham:
Thursday, June 2, 2011
New Puppy
I am picking up puppy number 3 on Sunday!! I am so excited that words can't even describe it. I went yesterday to pick out a new service dog puppy for me and Alice to train for My Angel With Paws. I had a very hard time choosing from 3 yellow lab boys. I did a couple "tests" to help me narrow down my choices and of course all three passed with flying colors. I dropped my keys and all of them picked them up and tried to carry them around. This is good for a service dog because some dogs don't like the taste of metal. I also payed really close attention when I first entered the room to see who was most interested in me. All three came over right away and sat down by me wanting to be rubbed (we want a dog that is very people oriented). Every one of them was calm, friendly and curious. It made my choice very very hard. I eventually picked the biggest fattest one because he likes to lay like this:
Now we are trying to come up with a name. Since he is a donation (ie he wasn't rescued and MAWP didn't breed him) his name has to start with the letter D. Alice and I have a huge list of names and now have to pick on we like. This is almost as hard as picking out the puppy. I can't wait to get Mr. No Name home and introduce him to Serena and Jack.
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