Training, Day 6

This morning during class Jeremy set up an obstacle course of temptation and distraction for the dogs. We had to walk the dogs toys, a ball, a jar of peanut butter and a pile of Beggin' Strips. At some points there were even two dogs at a time walking through. Rob and Mindy did well and she responded to his corrections. It's so impressive to watch all the dogs do this! As the finished the course Rob had Mindy sit in front of the Beggin' Strips and she did it perfectly.

  

 

In the afternoon we went back to the mall and she did really well and this time she didn't relieve herself in the middle of the mall -- progress for all of us! Rob and I are starting to know her schedule and recognize her ways of telling us what she needs.

We also got to meet Jeremy's wife today. They fostered Mindy so it was great to talk to her and hear her talk about what a wonderful girl Mindy is. She liked seeing Mindy and Mindy was so happy to see Jennifer.

After class we all got together for a cookout hosted by a family in our class who lives a half hour away. They have a lot of land and the dogs all loved running and playing. Mindy is super fast and likes to get the other dogs to chase her as she runs off with a ball. They had a baby pool set up and a few of the dogs wasted no time before jumping in! The dogs had a serious party! Mindy wasn't too interested in getting wet and our new car thanks her for that! As soon as we got in the car she started drifting off to sleep.

Mindy really doesn't want to go in after the ball...

 Good thing she has a friend who'll go in after it!

 

Happy dogs!

 

Mindy loves running!

  

...and she also loves taking the lead!

Training, Day 5

The bond between Evan and Mindy is really starting to show more. She often chooses to sit next to him and he likes to give her treats so it's a good deal for both of them!

 

At training today Jeremy showed us how to use a tether to attach Evan to Mindy. We will do this in crowded areas where he tends to quietly wander off. It'll be nice to know we won't loose him.

In the afternoon we talked about grooming, nail trimming, ear cleaning, flea and tick prevention, heart worm prevention and appropriate play toys and chew toys. It was a lot of information and I'm glad they gave out handouts.

Today Uncle Chuck and Aunt Debby arrived for a few days. It was a nice surprise to have the come to Ohio to offer support. So many people are responsible for us having Mindy and it's great to share the experience.

Back at the hotel Rob took the kids to the pool and Chuck, Debby and I took Mindy for a walk to pick up dinner from a Thai restaurant two blocks away. Mindy was a star! She was absolutely perfect and I was so proud! She was in a perfect heel, even walking downstairs at the hotel and maintained a "down" position while we ordered and waited for our food and then again in the dining area in the lobby of the hotel.

4 Paws for Ability trains a three unit team to work the dogs and our team is Mindy, Rob and Evan. I still have to be able to handle Mindy and she has to recognize that the rules are the same with me, but Rob has worked with her much more so she listens better to him. I work with her at the hotel and she and I are developing nicely. This is why I was so proud of how well she listened to me when we were out.

Funny story of the day: Jeremy was showing us toys to avoid like realistic looking small animals. He suggested avoiding these so the dogs aren't encouraged to chase after animals in the wild or small pets like guinea pigs. The he pulls out a fox toy as an example of what not to get and Evan doesn't miss a beat and says, "you know, we have that exact fox toy at home for Dinky and he loves it!"Where is that table to crawl under?!

Training, Day 4

Last night Mindy slept with Evan again and they continue to adorable together. He really likes having her sleep with him and hanging out with her. I love to see their bond growing and it is essential for er to connect with him in order to do her job.

We went to the mall today and practiced walking with the dogs in a public setting. Mindy did really well and even walked with Evan a little. She was a little confused walking with Evan and Rob both holding the leash but did great and Evan was happy to walk with her.

Evan gives her lots of treats to help with the bonding. They both think it's pretty cool so that makes this part of the process easy!

Jeremy came with us while we walked around the mall and gave us pointers along the way. Before we went to the mall Jeremy said to be prepared to clean up an accident, just in case, and to make sure the dogs go potty before going to the mall. He said if it happens just clean it up quickly. He was also reassuring by telling us that at some point over the years it will happen to everyone.

Before entering the mall Mindy walked around outside twice but didn't do anything. To make a long story short, we don't have to wonder when an accident in public will happen. And, just to show how brilliant we are, it happened right in front of Jeremy!

Like I said before, we are learning.

After practicing we took a break at Starbucks and Mindy was perfect snoozing under the table while Aria and Evan sipped their smoothies and Rob and I re-caffeinated!

Training, Day 3

Last night Mindy slept with Evan and she seemed to do very well relaxing on the bed. It was great to see Evan and Mindy forming their bond.

In class today we got to hear about each family's experience at the hotel. We practiced obedience and they gave us each a Mutt Mat and Evan picked a bright green one. Mindy seemed quite comfortable in her place on it!

Aria volunteered again today and spent a lot of time with a puppy named Rainbow. She had trouble getting her back in the cage so she climbed in to demonstrate -- what a funny sight to find them both in the cage!

We also worked on getting Mindy to lay down under a table. This will be especially good at restaurants but we'll use this at home too. We also learned the command, "lap" for Mindy to lay her head on Evan's lap for soothing and behavior disruption. Evan liked petting her and giving her treats. He told Jeremy, the trainer, how helpful this will be when he has to get shots.

During class we also watched a Golden Retriever who is trained to pick up dropped items for a boy in a wheelchair and a Papillion who is trained as a hearing dog for a college student. It was amazing to watch these dogs do their jobs!

When we left 4 Paws for Ability today we were all tired. Back at the hotel we had dinner and practiced our homework so we are ready for tomorrow. We will have our first public access (except for the hotel) tomorrow at the Mall! Nine families with nine service dogs in training at a mall -- what a sight we will be!

Training, Day 2

Today we showed up at 4 Paws for Ability ready to go. We worked on lots of commands: sit, down, heel, jump, shake hands, give five and high five.

Aria volunteered to help with some if the dogs today. She spent a lot of time with Mallow who was really sweet and enjoyed her attention. Aria loved it too!

In the afternoon Evan helped Jeremy with training by working with Mindy to demonstrate how to get the dogs to bark on command. From there we moved onto seizure response and Evan pretended to have a seizure and Mindy barked in response. Pretty amazing stuff. Evan is due for a seizure any day so we'll be really interested to see what Mindy does.

"Sit"

 

"Shake"

 

 Evan's special trick: "Which hand is the teat in?"

Today we also got to bring Mindy back to the hotel with us! Before we left we took her outside and Evan played with Mindy with a ball. They both loved it!

 

 

When we got to the hotel Mindy was really confused. We left her in the kennel when we went to dinner downstairs because she seemed apprehensive. We'll try bringing her to breakfast tomorrow.

Evan met Mindy today!

The long awaited day finally arrived...Evan got to meet his service dog, Mindy. It was an amazing experience. When we got to 4 Paws for Ability, Evan went straight to Mindy's crate to coo at her. The day was full of sensory overload as we met Mindy and worked on some basic obedience skills. Mindy of course knows everything, it's just a matter of convincing her that we are worthy handlers.

Evan was overwhelmed and having a lot of trouble focusing, so watching him meet Mindy for the first time wasn't the magical boy and his dog moment everyone probably imagines. But go ahead and imagine that anyway, it makes for a better story.

Mindy is small-ish Goldendoodle with a velvety smooth coat and a sweet personality. She was groomed right before we got to Ohio and they clipped her pretty short and put pink ribbons in her hair. She is so cute and I'm looking forward to seeing her with more curls! The little pink bows didn't last long but Aria thought they were pretty cute.

 

Evan wasn't very interested in having his picture taken today so I had to be stealth! I'm looking forward to getting a nice portrait of the two of them together!

Mindy is sleeping at 4 Paws for Ability tonight and will come back to the hotel with us tomorrow after we have a little more experience and confidence. I'm guessing the magic will happen then when we have downtime with Mindy in a more calm environment. The day was thrilling and tiring and we came back to the hotel for dinner and a dip in the pool before bed.

While we were in training a girl in our class had a seizure and her dog alerted an hour before it started and then responded when she started seizing. When the seizure started Mindy started barking and we aren't sure if it was due to the seizure or just a random bark, but she didn't bark much except for that time.It was almost spooky to see the dogs react like that. Evan seems like he is gearing up for a seizure and I'm hoping he waits until after tonight so we'll have Mindy at the hotel and can see how she does.


Bonus for the day: my cousin Paul, his wife Pam and their son Andy were at 4 Paws for Ability to adopt a dog that didn't make it as a service dog. Her name is Vroom and I think she will be the perfect addition to their family! Which one has a bigger smile? I can't tell!

"Mindy is my heart"

Tomorrow morning Evan will meet Mindy. This has been a much anticipated day to say the least. Tonight as Evan got ready for bed we took a photo of Mindy's new ID tag and Evan looked at me and said, "Mindy is my heart." I kissed him on the head and told him I know how he feels but to be honest sometimes he says things that stop me in my tracks.

Five minutes later he was in tears. The anticipation and expectation just caught up with him. It was hard for him to be in Ohio and not get to meet Mindy. Add that to three hours in the pool and the meltdown was inevitable. Rob calmed him down and we read and as soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep.

Evan usually struggles with insomnia due to one of his medications so this is a pretty remarkable site. Sweet dreams to the boy who is my heart.