#service dog in training
So incredibly proud of this guy. I was at a relative’s and went into a panic attack. Luckily I had treats and had him go into his DPT position. He stayed perfectly until I let him know I was okay.
Image description to come.
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We went to my therapy appointment today and he did pretty well! I wasn’t asking for much out of him, it was mostly just for socialization but he settled quickly. We had a minor oops moment when a large lab came out and startled him, he wasn’t very appreciative of the lab’s manners haha. Most people were really respectful, one lady apologized after asking if she could pet him once she saw his patches and parents made sure their kids didn’t pet him. One even said that he was working so they couldn’t distract them. There was an older teen who tried to secretly pet him but gave up after he couldn’t reach without standing up.
He did pee on himself in the car which was entirely my fault for letting him drink a bunch of water before leaving so he got a bath once we got home. My weird, soggy boy.
Image one (1) description: A white shepherd puppy lays in the backseat of a car. The car’s interior is black. He is looking at the camera with his tongue out wearing a red flat collar, a matching leash, and a red vest. The vest has a black hem, reflective material lining the bottom edge, and one (1) patch that says “in training service dog” on each side’s zip up pocket.
Image two (2) description: The same puppy, now lacking any of the previous gear, is staring up at the camera on all fours (4), fur damp. He is on beige carpet with a similar colored couch, covered in a white blanket and a powder blue pillow, on the left and a white cabinet in the hallway on the right behind him. The walls of the house are cream with a brown trim. There is a white vent coming from the wall. On the floor there is a white washcloth and a white scratching post just behind him.
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This is one of the best interactions I’ve ever had.
Two school age kids: “Oh look at the big white puppy!”
Their mother: “Come here, let me explain something to you. That dog is a Service Dog. Whenever you see a dog in a store like this you can’t distract it cause it’s working.”
Two kids: “What do you mean he’s working?”
Mom: “He helps that girl. You know how at school your teacher tells you to be quiet so you don’t get distracted doing your work? It’s the same thing with that dog. You can’t distract him.”
Two kids: “What does he help her with?”
Mom: “That’s her business. Your business is to not distract him so he can work.”
If children can understand so can you.
Jeez, this NEEDS to be boosted. I have a friend who’s training a service dog ( his name is Noble and he is beautiful ), but the problem is that while out in public people sometimes have NO respect for her or the dog, they touch him, try to get his attention and even try to feed him ( HUGE no no for a pupper in training ). There’s even times when she herself gets treated poorly by people for telling then they can’t pet her dog, so please try to spread this around so that people can understand why it’s important to respect service dogs and their handlers
That’s her business.
Your business is to not distract him so he can work.
Had a lovely reminder that Calanthe is very much A Puppy ™️
We went out to a local Bass Pro for PA training, had a fabulous day, rode and elevator for the first time, ignored her first drive by pet from a child(with a treat in front of her face, but I will take it), and ignored another dog training outside as we left.
And today I found my phone charger chewed on by vicious little puppy teeth because she was unsupervised for a few minutes.
Still over all a very good girl
Ponys insisting on sleepy dpt for my pain.
A service dogs work is apparently never done, even when he’s napping.
Met with my sister and neices. It was nice. :) Pony was better at ignoring them then last time (last time he wanted to sniff my sister). Tomorrow we will be trying to go to my councler together for the first time. My anxiety is killing me!
Does anybody have any tips?
Content Warning: Loud noises, background noise, grinding noise. Multiple background voices.
Ponyboy and I during the Black Friday rush at Dunkin Donuts. It was his first time in a coffee store like this, and the noises were weird. They had coffee grinders, whipped cream dispensers, and a hand-dryer that blows air in the bathroom that were all new to him. He was very interested, but was able to instantly focus on me- so I think he did well for his first visit. ;)Hey yall. Pony And I went black Friday shopping accidentally.
And it was great! We needed to grab dog food, then went to a dollarstore, and then went to Lowe’s so Pony could meet new friends and have fun in the chaos, and then we went to Dunkin Donuts. I have only just started to recover lol. But it was super fun and nice. Pony did amazing, and absolutely nailed it at Dunkin donuts, which was a new very different place for him.
Shoutout to adults who point out service dogs discreetly so they can quietly explain to the kids they’re with why you can’t distract them and how important it is to make sure they can do their jobs!
You folks are amazing and you make my day. Especially the ones who point out in training patches and say that it’s even more important because they’re still learning. You are good. Keep doing that. You make my life so much more comfortable when you do that.
Sadly for me, I’m just itchy from allergies. No harmless scratching or rubbing for me anymore I guess.
Yall there is so much dust in my house. No wonder I have problems with my asthma. Need to clean more often.
But here is a video of Ponyboy running to grab my med bag. I need to upgrade to a bigger one, and I’m planning on getting one that has a blue pattern, this brown one is very hard for him to see. He’s learning to scan entire rooms and look for it. This time it was hidden on the table.
We were going to go inside- but I forgot his vest. Darn brain fog! But we went out to train in front of dollar general anyways, and I am proud of how well he did out of vest, at night, after his first snow storm. Especially after not heading out for the past week, and even longer since we went out vested. Such is the life of a hermit, lol…
Would anyone be interested in more videos like this? Where we are either practicing tasks he already knows, or training new ones? I also have older videos I can post of us training, all the way back to when he was 8 weeks old!
[Video Description: Ponyboy is wearing a red and green sweater with a snowman on the back, who has a scarf. He has on his head halter and typical black leash, along with his head halter and his blue collar. He also has on his Ruffwear boots. We are outside of a store at night, on the pavement- it is wet from the snow. He is working on picking up a small white paper card from an old doctors appointment. At the very beginning of the video, he gets distracted by the snow, but then redirects to picking up the card.
End description.]
When your service dog is more photogenic than you’ve ever been.
[Image Description first photo:
Ponyboy the pitbull is sitting in a empty shed, wearing his head halter, collar, and a purple, green, white tie-dye bandana. A black leash is hanging from his halter. He has green boots on his front paws, grey on his back. He is looking past the camera to his handler, and his left lip is stuck folded under itself, while his ears are perked causing his forehead to be wrinkly. His right paw is lifted up and under himself, mid wave.
Second picture description: Seconds after the first picture. His paw is lowering now, and he has shifted his eyes from me to the treat in my hand.
End image descriptions. ]
A huge accomplishment - our second time using a bathroom in public! Pony used to refuse to go into the bathroom, but today I REALLY needed to go- so I tried leaving him with my mom. That was a big old NOPE for Pony. He was convinced he needed to go with me- He didn’t want to keep his downstay, and he was trying to get away from my mom to follow me. So I took his leash and let him come- and he didn’t even hesitate to enter the bathroom or stall. He wasn’t relaxed, but he wasn’t past threshold.
Ponyboy and I have been getting out much more often now that we have our rollator and the weather isn’t -30f out. Also, he has a new pastel rainbow bandana he is rocking- gotta show our Pride.
[Image Description: We are on the sidewalk, and this is a top down veiw of Ponyboy, you can see the wheel of my red rollator. Ponyboy is wearing his new bandana, and his blue head halter with pink and white patterns resembling abstract hearts. His ears are perked, his forehead is wrinkled, he is waving, and licking his front lips in atincipation of a treat.
End description]
Today has been chaotic, and I haven’t slept the past 24 hours, we had two pet dogs in stores, we went to 6 places, 3 of which Pony and I went into alone, and we just got back from getting my brand new rollator. :) A big, chaotic, but good day. Tonight I’m going to sleep REALLY well, and so is Pony. <3 More pictures to come in the next few days… Right now, time for resting.
Edit: Posted this a good 26 hours ago, finally Tumblr uploaded it
[Image Description
Ponyboy is standing between my legs, wearing a black collar, his vest, and a head halter with blue, pink, and white hearts and swirls on it. Pony is looking at my phone, with his ears perked and a focused look. We are in a store isle, the floor is concrete.
End description]
Pony and I got out to do some work today, after about a month of life being too hectic and crazy. He was beyond thrilled to work again, I wish I had taped how excited he was when I was getting his things together. we went to quite a few places for quick errands, but the one we hung out in for awhile was this one. A health food store we’ve never been in before. He did amazing, although the floors confused him a bit. All the stores we go to that are just concrete are pet friendly places where he doesn’t need to work, and he gets to be friendly. So he was extremely confused that he couldn’t see people, but once it clicked that he still had to work, he was great. <3
Guess who’s insurance is going to help pay for a rollator!
So tell me- what are your tips? Do you have your dog tuck under it while your sitting? Do you let your dog do DPT while your sitting? What are your favorite accessories? What leash do you suggest? Over the shoulder, traffic lead, or in hand? I can’t wait to be able to travel more, have fun, have some freedom! Do you have any safety tips or cautions? Do you have ways of winterizing yours? Would zip ties on the wheels work like they do with wheelchairs? I live in new york, we get what feels like half a year of snow and ice.
Pony rocked at chilling at a buffet style restaurant that was crowded, and did well while we were getting food. I was even able to leave him under the table when I got up to hug someone i recognized, although after about a minnuet of chatting he got up and walked out from under our table and over to lay down next to me. Oh well lol… It was the first time I’ve ever left him to do a down-stay in a public place that had people in there. It’s something to practice, but I am proud of him. :)
(Also, sorry I’ve been gone awhile. Life has been too bad to post much, and it just got a lot worse. I’m hoping coming back on here will be a bit therapeutic, but I won’t be focusing on posting too often. I do have some videos though.)
Feb 1 2021 Hourly Comics Day!!!
This is the most I have ever drawn and it was a fun time. Thanks for reading!
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