Swimming Lessons

Izzo and her Helping Paws classmates took advantage of the fact that their instructor was off last week and no class was held. They decided to have a puppy party instead of schoolwork!!

And what a blast they had. Hosted by Rugby and Cathy, we headed over to Hudson, Wisconsin. A big fenced yard and eight eager Golden Retriever puppies set the tone for the night. They had a blast, running, playing, wrestling and tumbling. There was Rugby, Izzo, Benny, Dempsey, Angel, Becca, Boston and Sawyer.

That's Izzo on the left, taking advantage of the other dogs wrestling to get a turn with the tug of rope toy.

As if that weren’t enough fun, we then headed down to the St. Croix River. Most of the puppies had been in the water, but not really enough water to actually swim in. Izzo had been in a lake over the 4th of July but there were too many people and kids and noise that she didn’t really realize what a dog could actually DO in water….

The same thing happened at the river. She was a little uncertain at first and got a bit concerned when we walked out to the point where the water was getting up around her nose. But then we were joined by a couple other “big dogs” Belle and Cody. They went bounding past Izzo out to deeper water to retrieve a ball.

Izzo, not wanting to miss a chance to play with the big dogs, raced out after them. And without really realizing what she was doing, the natural instinct kicked in and she was swimming! It was so fun to watch her discover this new skill. Once she realized what she was capable of, there was no stopping her. She was happy to splash and swim and chase down the balls and toys.

Of course the aftermath of swimming in the river means a wet, sandy, dirty, smelly dog. I decided that the next day would be a good time to take Izzo out for her first professional dog bath. She did just fine at the groomer’s and is smelling much better these days!



Izzo really misses Miles – who has now moved back to college with Jake. We walk in the front door and the first thing she does is turn to the right to go into the family room where Jake and Miles were normally sitting watching TV. Now it is empty and quiet. She’s a bit sad, but also enjoying the fact that she is now the sole “kid” in the house and the beneficiary of more of my attention.

Sometimes a little peace and quiet is a good thing!
Cheers!

Getting Out AND Getting Outside

(Picture of Izzo after a wet morning outside)

One of the pleasantries of fostering a service dog is being assigned homework that requires us to “get out.” We are to socialize! Wooohooo – an excuse to go visiting and check places out. Having a cute puppy wearing a service dog vest is like having a magnet at the end of the leash…. People look. People stare. People approach us. Izzo attracts all kinds of attention from all ages of people.

I guess I knew it would be like this. I’ve seen Jake and Miles graciously deal with lots of attention these past couple of years. But it was always Jake and Miles who had to “deal” with it. Now it is Izzo and I.

I really do enjoy telling people how much a service dog can change someone’s life because I have seen it! I love educating questioners about what the dogs do for people with disabilities and explaining that I am getting trained on how to train Izzo at the same time as the dog is getting trained.

(I just don’t like being out in public for too long because you can really only explain, “It’s not a muzzle, it’s a gentle leader. We use it because it gives greater control of the direction of the dogs head versus the control a collar around her neck gives,” so many times before you start to go a little batty… )

Getting out – it really is fun. Izzo loves meeting people and I love showing off her newly learned social skills. Since we’ve brought Izzo home, I’ve also learned that, yes, there can be an upside to housebreaking a puppy if you just look for it.

As much as it has been a pain in the butt to take the dog out all hours of the day and night, (only to have her come inside and pee on the floor) there is a positive. I have been outside my house at more different times of the day and night than I have in a long time. I am hearing and seeing things that I never would have, but for housebreaking Izzo.

As a result of taking Izzo out to “go” I’ve been blessed to see brilliant stars and a thumbnail moon set in a pitch black sky in the middle of the night, while simultaneously being serenaded by the intermittent squeak of an old rusty windmill turning in the breeze at the neighbors house a half mile down the road.

As a result of taking Izzo out to “go” I’ve heard pheasant roosters cackling, turkeys gobbling, coyotes yipping, wood ducks flapping in our maple trees and Canadian geese honking. Sitting at the table waiting for my morning coffee to kick in, has been replaced by stepping out into the cool crisp fresh spring air and hearing a multitude of birds singing a joyous morning greeting.

As a result of taking Izzo out I’ve stood in the sloppy wet snow storms of late March and the drizzles of an April shower. I have a renewed appreciation for the warmth of the fireplace upon our return inside.

Thanks to Izzo – I’ve been getting out AND getting outside.

(video is our yard in the morning with wood ducks)

The First Month Together

I just looked at the calendar and realized that Izzo and I have survived together for FOUR WEEKS! It is hard to believe that it has already been a month since this amazing little girl has come into our lives.

Over the last month she has grown like a weed and has already learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot too!



I’m posting a couple of new pics that I think are cute. How long are dogs able to do the “frog legs” position? Looks like it would hurt but Izzo lays that way often and that amazes me. The other is from when we were working on the “watch” command. (still not giving the verbal command, just rewarding the behavior). I feel sorry for her when she looks up at me and is looking right at the sun so I try to position myself so she doesn’t have to, or at least can be in shadow.



Today was a busy day. Starting with me realizing that we need to do some more puppy proofing around the house. Izzo is getting bigger and is able to climb past some of the barriers we had put in place so new barriers are now being planned.

We spent the day out and about and accomplished LOTS of socialization. We went to the WM High School girls softball tournament in town and met two other dogs, lots of kids and people. Then we went to the river park and checked out the rapids at the dam and saw more kids and people fishing. Then it was on to the fire station where Fireman Ned was moving the trucks out of the garage and washing the floors. Lots of action and motion. We ended up at Petco where we met more dogs and kids and watched shopping carts moving around. Oh yes, and Izzo got to pick out a new toy… just what she needs!

I was very pleased with her behavior today. She did very well with her “4 on the floor” greetings and tried really hard not to jump. I also learned how to give instruction to the people we met who wanted to pet her on how to greet Izzo to help her not jump.

We heard a lot of “OOOOOHHHH what a cute puppy!” today. We also heard a lot of “she is really good” and “look at her watch you…” It is really encouraging for me to see how she has progressed over the last 4 weeks.

Thanks for checking in!

Survived the First Week

Well we have officially survived our first week!

And Puppy has a name (picked by Jake), we are calling her IZZO. Yes – for those of you who know our family it is our love of MSU Basketball that prompted the naming. Plus, it is kind of a cool name for a dog, don’t you think? We debated many names, and I thought about it long and hard. But in the end, given that it was Jake who got me into this effort, I figured I should honor him and his request. So in the end, he won out and she is truly and sweetly our Izzo.

We go to class on Monday nights and one of our assignments this week was to get our puppies used to their names. She doesn’t know it yet… but will respond on occasion. We are also supposed to be working on getting our dogs to “watch.” This is a common command to get the dogs attention prior to giving them a command. So we are rewarding eye contact, without the word at this point.

Another assignment for the week is just to get her to familiar with the “click/treat” sequence that is used to mark a desirable behavior (we use a little clicker because it is a distinctive sound that is consistently reproduced) and then instantly give a treat. I didn’t think Izzo was making the connection, and then accidentally hit my clicker when I didn’t mean to. She stopped what she was doing and looked!!! I was ecstatic and gave her a treat and lots of praise.

Izzo is doing really well going in her kennel. She is sleeping through the night quietly and goes into it willingly (we use food and treats to make it a happy place for her). So that part is going well.

Probably our biggest frustration is the sharp puppy teeth. Sometimes she gets carried away and grabs pant legs, fingers, shoe laces, etc. We are not supposed to say “no” to our dogs so our strategy is to distract with a toy that Izzo likes to chew. It works… mostly.

Well it is half time – the Spartans are up by two points. I have to go watch the rest of the game! Go Green! Go White! Go Izzo!

First Day

We have made it for nearly 24 hours. What a relief...

Puppy (yet to be named - suggestions welcome) and I go to class on Monday night. Until then our homework for the weekend was simple.
- get puppy used to wearing a collar
- get puppy used to going into kennel
- get puppy to recognize that a click means a treat (positive behavior shaping)
- get puppy familiar with the leash
- get puppy used to being groomed
- get puppy used to going potty outside and try to connect the phrase "better go now" with the results and a reward.

The little girl is so darn cute... I have been really enjoying getting to know her. She is the 8th of 10 puppies - all of whom went to foster homes to start their training for the life of a service dog on Friday, March 27th.

I have perspective on the difference that a service dog can make in someone's life, my son received a service dog nearly two years ago. During that time, I've seen an incredible bond form between them and the dog really is the reason he was able to go off to college and do well. An amazing dog, Miles is. He makes such a difference for Jake, and we are all very lucky to have him in our lives.

I've seen the end result. Now I'm going back to the beginning of the process and learning how to get to the end. I'm eager and excited to shape this little ball of fur into a service dog. As we were told last night when we were handed our puppies - you will have ups and downs, failures and successes - just keep your eyes on the end result - a well trained service dog for someone who really needs it.

So what was our first day like? It started at 5 am with puppy indicating she needed to "go." She made it from 11 pm to 5 am - which I thought was pretty good. We've been on the go most of the day - in and out about 10 times (didn't know a puppy could pee and poop so many times!) I snuck a nap in this afternoon while puppy was also napping.... felt good.


Puppy has totally alienated our cat. They met last night for a brief second when I brought the puppy home and then the cat disappeared upstairs. Not to emerge at all. Very unlike her. She was so quiet and tucked away in some back closet, that I was worried she had somehow gotten out of the house and run away. Thankfully I found her under a bed later and she has expressed her disgust and disdain toward me for bringing yet ANOTHER dog into our house.

Dodger and puppy met late morning and seemed to hit it off ok. Dodger is a very patient dog and he put up with the puppy's energy and nips with the tolerance we expected him to show. He even got a little playful at one point and seemed to enjoy it - for about 1 minute. But he will be fine.

Only a couple little accidents in the house today. We've done a lot of trips outside and puppy does appear to be "connecting the dots" that a treat follows a job done outside. So tonight will be more play - wear puppy out - and hope she sleeps as well as she did last night!