Monday, July 30, 2012
Still waiting
The last time I talked to the my CA contact she said the board would be meeting at the end of July to decide if we would be approved for another dog. Well, tomorrow is the last day of July and I still haven't heard anything. Of course, my mind is racing with possibly reasons, ranging from they forgot about us to they said 'heck no'. I'm trying to be patient, which is never easy for me. I really want to call, but I will try to hold off until next week. I don't want to bug them in case it would come back to bite me in the butt. I mean, what if someone said "You know, we think M would really benefit from a dog, but her mom is such a nag! There is no way we would place a dog with such a nag." See how my thought process goes?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
It's a good sign
I'm sneaking this post in at work because it's too good not to share. I heard back from the contact person.. It sounds like we should be approved for another dog! It's not official until the board meets at the end of the month, but things are looking very positive. The problem we're going to have is finding a dog that's very gentle.
Still, it looks like we'll be clearing one major hurdle!!!
Still, it looks like we'll be clearing one major hurdle!!!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Exploring the options
With the whole CA situation up in the air, I'm staring to look at several different options regarding a service dog for Mika. I have only recently started exploring options, so my list is very incomplete, but here's what I have so far:
1. Try a different agency. I am starting to look all over again. There are several pros and cons for getting a dog from a group. Some charge a huge amount of money, like $20,000+, which is way beyond what I can afford. There are some non-profits that will place a dog for free, but then we have to go back through the whole application process and the 3-4 year wait. The big plus about an agency is that you will get a dog that is trained (for the most part) so you will hopefully just need to keep up the training, not start from scratch.
Pros: an already trained dog Cons: lots of money or a long, long wait
2. Train our own. This is something I never would have considered a year ago. At this point, it's something I am very seriously considering. We would literally get a dog and train it ourselves to be a service dog. My first instinct is to get an adult dog from the pound and work with it, but all the service dog trainers and books I've read say it's actually very hard to make that work. The ideal time to start working with a dog is as a young puppy, and a lot of the dogs in the shelters come with issues of their own that they need to work through.
While I don't like the puppy stage as a general rule, there are big benefits from getting a puppy from a breeder and working upwards. When you get it from a breeder, you know the health history of both parents. It's very important to know if there is a family history of common diseases like hip dysplasia or cataracts, etc. And you can get a very general idea of the potential size of the dog and temperament. If both of the parents are large 70+ lb dogs, the odds of you getting a 30 lb dog aren't good. And it would allow for a strong bond to form between M and the dog, because they would be together as soon as the puppy is 8 weeks old.
There are significant downsides to this, of course. Number 1 is the cost. A purebred puppy may cost $1000, not including all the costs of shots, spay/neutering, and meds. And it's really expensive if the puppy gets sick or hurt and requires more vet care. Hey, it cost $130 to get Fern's two x-rays and emergency vet visit and that's WITH a 25% discount! There are classes and training we can take with certified service dog trainers, but those cost around $1000/each level. I know there are people who can pay that without batting an eye, but that's a huge amount of money for me.
A service dog in training doesn't have the same access rights as a full fledged service dog. I would have to pay a pet deposit and pet rent per month while the dog was training because it wouldn't qualify as a service dog yet. And I still can't figure out the rules for access to public buildings with a dog in training.
Pros: early bonding and training opportunities Cons: cost, lack of legal protection, the puppy stage
I don't know what to do. I guess I have more research to do while I wait to hear from CA.
1. Try a different agency. I am starting to look all over again. There are several pros and cons for getting a dog from a group. Some charge a huge amount of money, like $20,000+, which is way beyond what I can afford. There are some non-profits that will place a dog for free, but then we have to go back through the whole application process and the 3-4 year wait. The big plus about an agency is that you will get a dog that is trained (for the most part) so you will hopefully just need to keep up the training, not start from scratch.
Pros: an already trained dog Cons: lots of money or a long, long wait
2. Train our own. This is something I never would have considered a year ago. At this point, it's something I am very seriously considering. We would literally get a dog and train it ourselves to be a service dog. My first instinct is to get an adult dog from the pound and work with it, but all the service dog trainers and books I've read say it's actually very hard to make that work. The ideal time to start working with a dog is as a young puppy, and a lot of the dogs in the shelters come with issues of their own that they need to work through.
While I don't like the puppy stage as a general rule, there are big benefits from getting a puppy from a breeder and working upwards. When you get it from a breeder, you know the health history of both parents. It's very important to know if there is a family history of common diseases like hip dysplasia or cataracts, etc. And you can get a very general idea of the potential size of the dog and temperament. If both of the parents are large 70+ lb dogs, the odds of you getting a 30 lb dog aren't good. And it would allow for a strong bond to form between M and the dog, because they would be together as soon as the puppy is 8 weeks old.
There are significant downsides to this, of course. Number 1 is the cost. A purebred puppy may cost $1000, not including all the costs of shots, spay/neutering, and meds. And it's really expensive if the puppy gets sick or hurt and requires more vet care. Hey, it cost $130 to get Fern's two x-rays and emergency vet visit and that's WITH a 25% discount! There are classes and training we can take with certified service dog trainers, but those cost around $1000/each level. I know there are people who can pay that without batting an eye, but that's a huge amount of money for me.
A service dog in training doesn't have the same access rights as a full fledged service dog. I would have to pay a pet deposit and pet rent per month while the dog was training because it wouldn't qualify as a service dog yet. And I still can't figure out the rules for access to public buildings with a dog in training.
Pros: early bonding and training opportunities Cons: cost, lack of legal protection, the puppy stage
I don't know what to do. I guess I have more research to do while I wait to hear from CA.
And now we wait
Even while we were making arrangements for Fern to return I was asking about getting a new dog. At camp they acknowledged that sometimes things don't work out, no matter how hard everyone works. They said that if things weren't working, it would best for the dog to return and the recipient get a new one. It sounded like they were understanding and, while not ideal, it happened and they would help you get a dog as soon as possible. In their documentary "Through a Dog's Eyes", they had something like that happen to a little boy and the video ended with them saying that the dog was going back and they would get a different dog. Now I wonder if they really did.
After significant pushing on my part, I finally got some answers out of CA, but they were not reassuring. Apparently our case will have to be reviewed by the "board". I have no idea who the board is, or what they do, but they have to review our case. Then they will be the ones that say we can or can not receive another dog. As of last month, there was no meeting time set and she doesn't know when they will next meet. She took pity on me and talked to the owner of CA about our case. The owner said she didn't see any reason we couldn't have another dog placed, which greatly relieves me. Of course, it's non-binding, but that has to be a great sign.
And now here's more bad news. If we get approved (I'm cautiously optimistic now that we will), we may have a long wait. They said we would need a "pretty laid back" dog, which may take some time to find. (Why didn't they notice that during the three year wait?) If they find one for M fairly soon, we would probably fly out to CA for a 3 or 4 day trip, hopefully over a weekend, so they can see if the match will work. If it takes a long time, we would have to do the training camp all over again. Essentially, they could put us back on the waiting list for another 3 years and make us start from scratch.
M is understandably upset. We both tried so hard with Fern, doing everything they said to and completely wrapping our lives around her. When things just didn't work out, we did exactly what they said and returned her instead of just keeping her as a pet and ignoring her lack of bond with M. How would it not be a punishment for them to tell us we couldn't get another dog? Or make us wait another 3 years? That would be a punishment for being honest instead of self-serving. M alternates between being mad at CA for not agreeing to another dog immediately and being hurt they are doubting her. I can understand her feelings. This is when the dog would do so much good. There are times M feels so left out because she can't do sports and only modified PE classes. She stands out because something is always in a splint or brace and she misses a lot of school. Even though Fern could be very naughty, she was still there for Mika to cuddle with when she was hurting.
So now we're in a holding pattern. I sent off an email yesterday to the outreach contact just saying I'm doing a one month post-Fern check in, letting you know we're still very interested in receiving a different dog. I asked if there was a board meeting scheduled or if there was any other information available. I'm not hopeful of getting a response with any helpful information. The unknown is so hard. When I submitted M's application way back in 2008 we knew within 2 months that we were approved. I only wish that would happen now.
After significant pushing on my part, I finally got some answers out of CA, but they were not reassuring. Apparently our case will have to be reviewed by the "board". I have no idea who the board is, or what they do, but they have to review our case. Then they will be the ones that say we can or can not receive another dog. As of last month, there was no meeting time set and she doesn't know when they will next meet. She took pity on me and talked to the owner of CA about our case. The owner said she didn't see any reason we couldn't have another dog placed, which greatly relieves me. Of course, it's non-binding, but that has to be a great sign.
And now here's more bad news. If we get approved (I'm cautiously optimistic now that we will), we may have a long wait. They said we would need a "pretty laid back" dog, which may take some time to find. (Why didn't they notice that during the three year wait?) If they find one for M fairly soon, we would probably fly out to CA for a 3 or 4 day trip, hopefully over a weekend, so they can see if the match will work. If it takes a long time, we would have to do the training camp all over again. Essentially, they could put us back on the waiting list for another 3 years and make us start from scratch.
M is understandably upset. We both tried so hard with Fern, doing everything they said to and completely wrapping our lives around her. When things just didn't work out, we did exactly what they said and returned her instead of just keeping her as a pet and ignoring her lack of bond with M. How would it not be a punishment for them to tell us we couldn't get another dog? Or make us wait another 3 years? That would be a punishment for being honest instead of self-serving. M alternates between being mad at CA for not agreeing to another dog immediately and being hurt they are doubting her. I can understand her feelings. This is when the dog would do so much good. There are times M feels so left out because she can't do sports and only modified PE classes. She stands out because something is always in a splint or brace and she misses a lot of school. Even though Fern could be very naughty, she was still there for Mika to cuddle with when she was hurting.
So now we're in a holding pattern. I sent off an email yesterday to the outreach contact just saying I'm doing a one month post-Fern check in, letting you know we're still very interested in receiving a different dog. I asked if there was a board meeting scheduled or if there was any other information available. I'm not hopeful of getting a response with any helpful information. The unknown is so hard. When I submitted M's application way back in 2008 we knew within 2 months that we were approved. I only wish that would happen now.
Monday, June 11, 2012
A sad good-bye
I know it's been a long time since I posted anything. Part of it is because I've been insanely busy. But another part of it is because I've had a hard time thinking of what to say. I've been struggling to balance being positive with being brutally honest in my blog. I'm so worried about giving people a bad impression of service dogs, and that's not what I want to do at all. In fact, I can't say enough about how wonderful service dogs are. But I'm also trying to be completely honest about the whole service dog process and that requires talking about both the good and the bad.
After much deliberation and tears, we sent Fern back to CA almost 2 weeks ago. Trust me when I say it wasn't an easy decision. In fact, it was horrible. A part of me felt like I was abandoning a family member and there were plenty of tears. I nearly caused a scene when I took her to the airport for her return flight to GA. Okay, so I caused a scene, but only a little one. Fern was so anxious at the airport that I had to stop several times just to get her attention and calm her down. I probably went through 20 treats in 3 minutes. And then she met the person there to take her back and she hid from him behind my legs for several minutes. Talk about guilt!
Still, as much as we loved Fern, she was not the right service dog for Mika. I would have chosen her for a pet, but that wasn't her job. We worked so hard with Fern, trying to help her get pass the pulling and running off and chewing. The last 3 weeks we had her we started an intense training period, as if we were starting over from scratch. She got treats for good behaviors, so much so that she gained 6.5 lbs in under 3 weeks. (That's a BIG no-no. An unhealthy dog can't be a good service dog.) I constantly pushed M and Fern to work together. Yet it still wasn't working out.
Fern wanted attention 100% of the time. It wasn't enough to talk to her or have her next to you, she wanted to be petted constantly. If Mika was doing her homework, Fern would try to pull the paper or pen away from her. Fern would come find me in the kitchen, but she didn't want a quick pat while I was cooking dinner, she wanted a full on belly rub. This was all the time and when she didn't have the hands on attention, she was more likely to get into trouble.
What it ultimately came down to was safety. After nearly 3 months of working with Fern, she would still bolt away with no warning. One time she separated M's shoulder and the next couple of times contributed to M breaking her hand. She would pull M wherever she wanted and even I had a hard time standing my ground when Fern wanted to sniff something. All the treats in the world couldn't get Fern's attention when she fixated on a smell. I think the fact M was hurt not once, but twice made the decision for me.
Fern's safety was also in question. She chewed up everything she could find. The day I sent off the email telling CA Fern needed to go back, Fern had reached up to the 3rd shelf of a bookcase and pulled off a calculator and pen the night before. M actually found it first and was nearly hysterical because she thought Fern had swallowed the battery. I found the battery and Fern showed no ill-affects of the night time chewing, but that was when M asked me to send her back. She said it was one thing for her to get hurt, but it was another thing for Fern to be hurt. I nearly cried to hear her say that. After being hurt twice, she was still more concerned about Fern than herself.
It took less than a week from the time I sent the email to the time Fern went back. I took Fern to the airport myself because it was M's last day of school. It was so hard! I packed a little bag for Fern (not a diaper bag exactly, but not far off, either) that had 2 of her favorite toys, her meds and about 5 lbs of dog treats. I think they thought I was nuts packing stuff for her, but we couldn't stand the thought of her not having her favorite toys. These are the stuffed animals that she carried around like babies. She wouldn't let us touch them, we could only admire them for a distance. :-)
It was hard going back to the house and seeing her toys and kennel still there. It was even worse the first couple of nights because M had become so accustomed to having Fern sleep on her legs (not against her legs, on them) that we had to find something to weigh her legs down. Even then, she was up two or three times in the night. I woke up at 0300 like normal, because I was so used to checking on Fern to make sure she hadn't chewed on anything.
We loved Fern. She's a wonderful dog, she just wasn't the right one for M. She had too much puppy in her for M to handle. I'm sure she will make a wonderful dog for someone who is more physically strong than M. It helps to know that she gets to go back to the same trainer as before, whom she adores more than anything on the planet. And she'll go right back to the farm where she will have plenty of area to run.
Now that a couple weeks have passed, it's easy to see no one was really happy. M was never comfortable walking Fern after the shoulder and hand injuries and Fern wanted more hands on attention than we could give her. I firmly believe that this is the best decision for everyone. It's just so disappointing that it came to this. To spend three years waiting for a dog and then nearly 3 months working with the dog, only to have it not end well is disheartening.
After much deliberation and tears, we sent Fern back to CA almost 2 weeks ago. Trust me when I say it wasn't an easy decision. In fact, it was horrible. A part of me felt like I was abandoning a family member and there were plenty of tears. I nearly caused a scene when I took her to the airport for her return flight to GA. Okay, so I caused a scene, but only a little one. Fern was so anxious at the airport that I had to stop several times just to get her attention and calm her down. I probably went through 20 treats in 3 minutes. And then she met the person there to take her back and she hid from him behind my legs for several minutes. Talk about guilt!
Still, as much as we loved Fern, she was not the right service dog for Mika. I would have chosen her for a pet, but that wasn't her job. We worked so hard with Fern, trying to help her get pass the pulling and running off and chewing. The last 3 weeks we had her we started an intense training period, as if we were starting over from scratch. She got treats for good behaviors, so much so that she gained 6.5 lbs in under 3 weeks. (That's a BIG no-no. An unhealthy dog can't be a good service dog.) I constantly pushed M and Fern to work together. Yet it still wasn't working out.
Fern wanted attention 100% of the time. It wasn't enough to talk to her or have her next to you, she wanted to be petted constantly. If Mika was doing her homework, Fern would try to pull the paper or pen away from her. Fern would come find me in the kitchen, but she didn't want a quick pat while I was cooking dinner, she wanted a full on belly rub. This was all the time and when she didn't have the hands on attention, she was more likely to get into trouble.
What it ultimately came down to was safety. After nearly 3 months of working with Fern, she would still bolt away with no warning. One time she separated M's shoulder and the next couple of times contributed to M breaking her hand. She would pull M wherever she wanted and even I had a hard time standing my ground when Fern wanted to sniff something. All the treats in the world couldn't get Fern's attention when she fixated on a smell. I think the fact M was hurt not once, but twice made the decision for me.
Fern's safety was also in question. She chewed up everything she could find. The day I sent off the email telling CA Fern needed to go back, Fern had reached up to the 3rd shelf of a bookcase and pulled off a calculator and pen the night before. M actually found it first and was nearly hysterical because she thought Fern had swallowed the battery. I found the battery and Fern showed no ill-affects of the night time chewing, but that was when M asked me to send her back. She said it was one thing for her to get hurt, but it was another thing for Fern to be hurt. I nearly cried to hear her say that. After being hurt twice, she was still more concerned about Fern than herself.
It took less than a week from the time I sent the email to the time Fern went back. I took Fern to the airport myself because it was M's last day of school. It was so hard! I packed a little bag for Fern (not a diaper bag exactly, but not far off, either) that had 2 of her favorite toys, her meds and about 5 lbs of dog treats. I think they thought I was nuts packing stuff for her, but we couldn't stand the thought of her not having her favorite toys. These are the stuffed animals that she carried around like babies. She wouldn't let us touch them, we could only admire them for a distance. :-)
It was hard going back to the house and seeing her toys and kennel still there. It was even worse the first couple of nights because M had become so accustomed to having Fern sleep on her legs (not against her legs, on them) that we had to find something to weigh her legs down. Even then, she was up two or three times in the night. I woke up at 0300 like normal, because I was so used to checking on Fern to make sure she hadn't chewed on anything.
We loved Fern. She's a wonderful dog, she just wasn't the right one for M. She had too much puppy in her for M to handle. I'm sure she will make a wonderful dog for someone who is more physically strong than M. It helps to know that she gets to go back to the same trainer as before, whom she adores more than anything on the planet. And she'll go right back to the farm where she will have plenty of area to run.
Now that a couple weeks have passed, it's easy to see no one was really happy. M was never comfortable walking Fern after the shoulder and hand injuries and Fern wanted more hands on attention than we could give her. I firmly believe that this is the best decision for everyone. It's just so disappointing that it came to this. To spend three years waiting for a dog and then nearly 3 months working with the dog, only to have it not end well is disheartening.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Fern the destroyer
We made our first trip to the vet on Friday, and Fern didn't appreciate the adventure. Why did we go to the vet, you ask? Because Fern chewed something plastic to near extinction. M was sick on Friday, so Fern was out of her kennel, sleeping next to M while she slept. Sometime during the time M was asleep, Fern got up and found something to chew to death. I'm not positive, but I think it was a flashlight. I still haven't found the non-chewed parts, like the top with the light bulb and glass, the switch and the batteries. I have absolutely no idea where she would have gotten a flashlight, though, so maybe it was something else. She started throwing up, so away we went for an emergency trip to the vet. After two x-rays, she was pronounced good to go. The cost for her misadventure? $125, with the 25% discount. The refused to do payments, so I had to do some creative financial juggling to come up with that money. Not fun.
Two days before the flashlight incident, Fern got up in the middle of the night and chewed a chunk off of our wood futon. I woke up to splinters of wood everywhere. I checked her mouth and there were no splinters, so I cleaned up the mess and didn't make a production out of it, even though I was mentally swearing at dealing with it a 0530.
I contacted CA and they said she could be chewing because she's bored. They recommended putting out a rawhide bone for her, in case she wakes up and is bored at night. That won't work though because rawhide bones are like crack to Fern. Shen she gets one she goes crazy, running around the living room to show it off and chewing non-stop until it's gone. If I tried to put out a rawhide at night she wouldn't sleep until it was gone, which would defeat the purpose to begin with.
She hasn't chewed anything that I know of since Friday, so maybe getting so sick has turned her off of it. I hope so, because I can't afford to run to the vet once a week. And I'm not crazy about having possessions destroyed, either.
Friday, May 4, 2012
A mortifying trip to Krogers
Let me preface this by saying Fern is usually so good that any odd behavior is unexpected. I don't want to give you a bad impression of her with this story, so keep that in mind.
Yesterday Mika had testing after school until 6:30 (don't even get me started on that), so I would take care of Fern until that was over. I don't like to leave Fern alone more than necessary because she's in the kennel while Mika is at school. (Long story there) I needed to get a few groceries, so I took Fern with me to Krogers. Big mistake.
Fern was trying to sniff everything while I walked to the pharmacy, but I didn't think too much of it. She actually sniffed the leg of the guy in line ahead of me. Fortunately he's a dog lover and didn't mind at all. After I got my prescription I went back and got a cart to do my shopping. I had the cart for no more than 2 minutes when I turned around and saw Fern pooping in the middle of the produce section. I nearly screamed. There were several people around initially, but by the time I had the emergency clean up supplies out they were long gone. Thank heavens because I was already embarrassed enough. To make it even more frustrating, as soon as she was done, Fern came over with her wagging tail and smiles like she was so proud of what she did. GRRR....
I got everything cleaned up and the tied up bag thrown away and tried again.
To make a long story short, Fern was awful. She tried to sniff at everything and everyone. I know this can be a sign of stress, but her tail was wagging and she would smile at me when she bothered to look up. She's been to that store at least 3 or 4 times, so she should be comfortable in it. My trip that should have taken 20 minutes took me 45 and my hand was sore from holding onto her leash while she was pulling. Darn dog.
For everyone who is thinking "Why didn't you take her potty before you went in the store, you idiot" I want you know now I tried. She did pee beforehand, but she's going through a spell where she only wants to poop after a 30 minute walk. Yesterday morning and today she wouldn't go at all, even though she got the normal 30 minute walk. I have no idea why she's being so fussy! It makes it really hard though.
It's a good thing she's a good dog 95% of the time because that 5% is really frustrating.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
An unexpected travel complication
So this summer, I'm allowing my daughter to plan an ambitious trip back to the home state. It's both amazing and frightening to think of her doing this. This is the first time we've made plans for her to be away from home for such a long time, and it's not without some anxiety on both of our parts. Still, the thought of having Fern with her really helped encourage M to try this.
Our original plan was to have her take a 3 week trip back to the upper Midwest. We would fly out together on a Thursday and catch up with all of our friends. I would take her to band camp on Sunday and fly home solo. She would stay in the university dorms until Friday, when camp ends and go home with her grandparents from there. She'll hang out with them until Thursday, where she would head to her best friend's house until Sunday. On Sunday, she would be picked up my her grandparents and taken to Girl Scout camp for the week. She would be picked up on Friday and fly back here on Sunday. Sounds good, right? If only things were so easy.
When I registered M for band camp I told them that she would be traveling with a service dog who would stay with her the entire time. The camp director directed me to the Hall Coordinator and to say I got a rude response would be an understatement. The woman was so rude I actually contacted CA and asked how to handle her response. That lead to a long phone conversation with the follow up guru (I love that woman). She had significant reservations about Fern going to band camp when she hasn't been exposed to such an experience before. I can certainly understand that. A band of 300 kids is not going to be a quiet experience. She waffled on GS camp, but M is going to a horseback riding camp and we would have to find something to do with Fern during the hours she was with the horses. I agree that it may be best for Fern to miss both camps.
It's hard for M, but when I explained why we made the decision she understood. In fact, she has become worried that new things might bother Fern and is starting to become anxious.
So now I'm in a quandary. I hate the idea of letting M go away for weeks at a time without Fern there. I have come to trust Fern to help Mika if needed and having to rely on strangers to help does not sound like a good plan to me. On the other hand, this is the first time that M has felt confident enough to even try something like this. I sure as heck am not going to hold her back. So right now the tentative plan is to bring Fern with us for the 1st weekend of hanging out with friends, and then I'll take her back home with me. I wish there was some way to get her back to M when camp is over, but I can't afford to make several extra flights to make it happen.
I guess this is one of those times that I'll just have to grin and bear it. Hopefully Fern won't be too upset without Mika. And I sincerely hope that this doesn't harm the bond between the two of them. CA said that they had no doubt this wouldn't harm their bond and I'm just going to have to trust them on that.
Our original plan was to have her take a 3 week trip back to the upper Midwest. We would fly out together on a Thursday and catch up with all of our friends. I would take her to band camp on Sunday and fly home solo. She would stay in the university dorms until Friday, when camp ends and go home with her grandparents from there. She'll hang out with them until Thursday, where she would head to her best friend's house until Sunday. On Sunday, she would be picked up my her grandparents and taken to Girl Scout camp for the week. She would be picked up on Friday and fly back here on Sunday. Sounds good, right? If only things were so easy.
When I registered M for band camp I told them that she would be traveling with a service dog who would stay with her the entire time. The camp director directed me to the Hall Coordinator and to say I got a rude response would be an understatement. The woman was so rude I actually contacted CA and asked how to handle her response. That lead to a long phone conversation with the follow up guru (I love that woman). She had significant reservations about Fern going to band camp when she hasn't been exposed to such an experience before. I can certainly understand that. A band of 300 kids is not going to be a quiet experience. She waffled on GS camp, but M is going to a horseback riding camp and we would have to find something to do with Fern during the hours she was with the horses. I agree that it may be best for Fern to miss both camps.
It's hard for M, but when I explained why we made the decision she understood. In fact, she has become worried that new things might bother Fern and is starting to become anxious.
So now I'm in a quandary. I hate the idea of letting M go away for weeks at a time without Fern there. I have come to trust Fern to help Mika if needed and having to rely on strangers to help does not sound like a good plan to me. On the other hand, this is the first time that M has felt confident enough to even try something like this. I sure as heck am not going to hold her back. So right now the tentative plan is to bring Fern with us for the 1st weekend of hanging out with friends, and then I'll take her back home with me. I wish there was some way to get her back to M when camp is over, but I can't afford to make several extra flights to make it happen.
I guess this is one of those times that I'll just have to grin and bear it. Hopefully Fern won't be too upset without Mika. And I sincerely hope that this doesn't harm the bond between the two of them. CA said that they had no doubt this wouldn't harm their bond and I'm just going to have to trust them on that.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
kennel success
I have to take just a moment and brag about Fern. Do you remember the first week we had to put Fern in the kennel? It was awful! It took lots of bribes and 10 minutes to get her to reluctantly go in and then she would whine and fuss. I had major guilt. I followed what the trainers told us at camp. I put a Kong with frozen peanut butter in it to keep her busy. I would alternate the Kong with a rawhide bone, which she loves. I would keep her favorite toy in there. I would leave the radio on for her to listen to and I left a light on in case she wanted more light than daylight. She wouldn't eat her rawhide or peanut butter, which can be a sign of stress. Let me tell you, both M and I were showing signs of stress, too.
So I came up with a half baked scheme to convince Fern that her kennel was the best doggie place ever. We have always kept her bowls of food and water in her kennel, so that was a good start. Then I started keeping all of her toys in the kennel, so she has to go in and get whichever one she wants to play with for the moment. That was a big help for sure.
We've also settled into a routine, which I have no doubt helps also. When we first came home we would feed her and then take her for a walk right away in the morning (think 0600). For the past couple of week, we've switched to taking her for a walk after we're all ready for school/work. That has worked better for all of us, as no one in our house is a morning person/dog.
I think what sealed the deal was the dog bed. About a week ago I bought a big pillow for Fern to lay on because I don't allow her on the sofas. It took her a day or two to warm up to it but now she loves it. M puts the pillow in her kennel in the morning and then takes it out as soon as she's home from school and Fern loves it. The pillow goes in first, then the toys, then sometimes a rawhide bone follows and last is a large Milkbone treat that she only gets when she goes into the kennel.
I am now convinced that we found the magic formula. Yesterday she went in as soon as we had things arranged, even before she got her treat. Today, as soon as we took off her harness from her walk, she bolted for her kennel. I actually had to convince her to leave the kennel so I could get the pillow in first. I didn't even get the pillow arranged perfectly (hey, I like them straight and in order) before she was curled up on it, obviously waiting for her toys. I put in her 3 favorite stuffed animals and her Kong ball (yes, she's that spoiled) and by the time I came back with her Milkbone, she had the toys arranged on her pillow so they were two on each side of her. She gently took the treat from my hand and settled onto her pillow, obviously ready for me to shut the door.
I'm so excited she likes her kennel! I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I am really happy we found a way for her to enjoy alone time and made her kennel a fun place to be because it makes it so much easier on all of us!
So I came up with a half baked scheme to convince Fern that her kennel was the best doggie place ever. We have always kept her bowls of food and water in her kennel, so that was a good start. Then I started keeping all of her toys in the kennel, so she has to go in and get whichever one she wants to play with for the moment. That was a big help for sure.
We've also settled into a routine, which I have no doubt helps also. When we first came home we would feed her and then take her for a walk right away in the morning (think 0600). For the past couple of week, we've switched to taking her for a walk after we're all ready for school/work. That has worked better for all of us, as no one in our house is a morning person/dog.
I think what sealed the deal was the dog bed. About a week ago I bought a big pillow for Fern to lay on because I don't allow her on the sofas. It took her a day or two to warm up to it but now she loves it. M puts the pillow in her kennel in the morning and then takes it out as soon as she's home from school and Fern loves it. The pillow goes in first, then the toys, then sometimes a rawhide bone follows and last is a large Milkbone treat that she only gets when she goes into the kennel.
I am now convinced that we found the magic formula. Yesterday she went in as soon as we had things arranged, even before she got her treat. Today, as soon as we took off her harness from her walk, she bolted for her kennel. I actually had to convince her to leave the kennel so I could get the pillow in first. I didn't even get the pillow arranged perfectly (hey, I like them straight and in order) before she was curled up on it, obviously waiting for her toys. I put in her 3 favorite stuffed animals and her Kong ball (yes, she's that spoiled) and by the time I came back with her Milkbone, she had the toys arranged on her pillow so they were two on each side of her. She gently took the treat from my hand and settled onto her pillow, obviously ready for me to shut the door.
I'm so excited she likes her kennel! I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I am really happy we found a way for her to enjoy alone time and made her kennel a fun place to be because it makes it so much easier on all of us!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Cute pictures
I have a couple of cute pictures that I have to share.
Doesn't this say it all?
Fern's puppy ears mean she is ready to play.
This is how Fern likes to sleep.
Doesn't this say it all?
Fern's puppy ears mean she is ready to play.
Fern antics
Fern is starting to show a mischievous side that we hadn't seen before. The past week has been full of funny moments. You want examples? I'm so glad you asked.
Fern loves stuffed animals of any kind. In fact she has three that we keep in the house and one that we keep in the car. She'll carry them around to show off, but doesn't really want you to touch them, just admire them. Well, M loves stuffed animals, too, so there are plenty around her room. Fern has found no less than 6 stuffed animals in various places. When we figured out she liked them M put all of hers up in the closet or on a shelf. Well, Fern found a couple under her bed and brought them out. The pic below is where Fern grabbed an armadillo puppet off the middle of my bed (which she's not allowed on).Then she found a couple that were by the reading chair in my bedroom. She found one that my brother sent M from Finland by reaching up to get it off of the 3rd shelf of the bookcase. And she took one from Mika while she was sleeping. I heard talking at 4 in the morning and came running out of my room thinking something was seriously wrong. Fern was sitting on the floor pretending not to hear or see M talking to her, holding the teddy bear between her two paws. I got the bear back for M and Fern refused to sleep on M's bed for the rest of the night.
The past week Fern has decided she loves the texture of plastic in her mouth. M has lots of Littlest Pet Shop toys in a basket. When M's friend was over last week they were playing with them on the floor of her bedroom. Fern watched for a while then stealthily walked over and picked up a plastic bed. She came bouncing out of the room, tail wagging, smiling as she showed me what she had found. She was very reluctant to give it up. Mika was upset Fern got something that could choke her so she shut her bedroom door while they played. Fern has never had Mika shut away from her before and she stood in front of her door for 10 minutes before she gave up. I felt a little mean, but it was better than knowing she liked little toys that could choke her.
Fern pulled a little con on M this Wednesday. Fern adores rawhide bones, but I limit the amount she can have so she doesn't get sick. I gave her a medium sized rawhide in the morning to keep her busy while M (who was sick) slept and I went to work. (On a side note, M is now able to stay at home by herself!) She called me when on my lunch break and we talked about how she was doing. She mentioned that Fern brought her the bag of small rawhide bones, so M gave her one. She was so proud that Fern asked for one instead of taking them all. What she didn't realize was that Fern had gotten the bag out of the box they are kept in by going into her kennel, moving a box across her kennel roof, going outside the kennel, standing up to balance herself on the outside of the kennel and reached into the box to grab the bag. So Fern had a good time eating more rawhide bones than she's normally allowed in a week. Silly dog.
Fern loves stuffed animals of any kind. In fact she has three that we keep in the house and one that we keep in the car. She'll carry them around to show off, but doesn't really want you to touch them, just admire them. Well, M loves stuffed animals, too, so there are plenty around her room. Fern has found no less than 6 stuffed animals in various places. When we figured out she liked them M put all of hers up in the closet or on a shelf. Well, Fern found a couple under her bed and brought them out. The pic below is where Fern grabbed an armadillo puppet off the middle of my bed (which she's not allowed on).Then she found a couple that were by the reading chair in my bedroom. She found one that my brother sent M from Finland by reaching up to get it off of the 3rd shelf of the bookcase. And she took one from Mika while she was sleeping. I heard talking at 4 in the morning and came running out of my room thinking something was seriously wrong. Fern was sitting on the floor pretending not to hear or see M talking to her, holding the teddy bear between her two paws. I got the bear back for M and Fern refused to sleep on M's bed for the rest of the night.
The past week Fern has decided she loves the texture of plastic in her mouth. M has lots of Littlest Pet Shop toys in a basket. When M's friend was over last week they were playing with them on the floor of her bedroom. Fern watched for a while then stealthily walked over and picked up a plastic bed. She came bouncing out of the room, tail wagging, smiling as she showed me what she had found. She was very reluctant to give it up. Mika was upset Fern got something that could choke her so she shut her bedroom door while they played. Fern has never had Mika shut away from her before and she stood in front of her door for 10 minutes before she gave up. I felt a little mean, but it was better than knowing she liked little toys that could choke her.
Fern pulled a little con on M this Wednesday. Fern adores rawhide bones, but I limit the amount she can have so she doesn't get sick. I gave her a medium sized rawhide in the morning to keep her busy while M (who was sick) slept and I went to work. (On a side note, M is now able to stay at home by herself!) She called me when on my lunch break and we talked about how she was doing. She mentioned that Fern brought her the bag of small rawhide bones, so M gave her one. She was so proud that Fern asked for one instead of taking them all. What she didn't realize was that Fern had gotten the bag out of the box they are kept in by going into her kennel, moving a box across her kennel roof, going outside the kennel, standing up to balance herself on the outside of the kennel and reached into the box to grab the bag. So Fern had a good time eating more rawhide bones than she's normally allowed in a week. Silly dog.
Rude questions
I knew going into the service dog process that we would get rude comments. Heck, most of Mika's life I've heard "But she looks so normal!", and that's definitely not a compliment. I even wrote Dear Abby about what to say. And she actually answered me! I feel so famous. :-)
Anyways, Abby didn't object to my politely telling strangers to mind their own business. And yes, I'm trying to be polite and, boy is it hard. I asked her what to say to acquaintances when they asked. They are people I can't be rude to, but I'm not comfortable giving information to. She told me to say "Oh, I don't want to bore you with the details" and then change the subject. It's good advice but I'm not good at coming up with new subjects off the top of my head when there's not much shared background. I need to come up with a good go-to topic. I'm always happy to default to baseball. Some people love it and will be happy to talk. Some people hate it and will do almost everything to avoid it. It seems like a good option now that I think about it. I'll have to try it and see how it goes.
Anyways, Abby didn't object to my politely telling strangers to mind their own business. And yes, I'm trying to be polite and, boy is it hard. I asked her what to say to acquaintances when they asked. They are people I can't be rude to, but I'm not comfortable giving information to. She told me to say "Oh, I don't want to bore you with the details" and then change the subject. It's good advice but I'm not good at coming up with new subjects off the top of my head when there's not much shared background. I need to come up with a good go-to topic. I'm always happy to default to baseball. Some people love it and will be happy to talk. Some people hate it and will do almost everything to avoid it. It seems like a good option now that I think about it. I'll have to try it and see how it goes.
A day of fieldtrips
What a day. Mikaela as been sick for a while now and I gave in and took her to the doctor. We spent about two hours there total between waiting and seeing the doctor. Fern did a great job overall, bar one little bark. Fern was asleep next to Mika's chair when the nurse knocked once on the door and came in. It startled all of us and Fern let out a quiet bark at the nurse. She was fine after that and even went back to sleep, but every time the nurse came in the room from then on she would tell Fern to 'chill' or 'just relax'. Given that Fern was lying under Mika's chair I didn't find her comments necessary, but I let them go for the most part.
We were sent up to the children's hospital to make sure that her heart was still doing well. The entire walk from the parking garage to the EKG rooms was filled with people smiling and even cooing at Fern. We've made it a policy that if we are on a schedule we don't acknowledge people with more than a smile. It's not that we don't appreciate the positive reactions, because we absolutely do. It's just that we've learned the hard way that once you give someone the opening to talk you will be there forever. They'll want to ask questions about Fern, then they'll want to tell you all about their dog and their favorite dog experiences, too. And then more people will stop to talk when they see that you are receptive to talk and it will take 15 minutes to move away.
When we got into the EKG waiting area a receptionist looked up and said "oh no". We went up to the desk and after a minute I told M to go grab a seat for us in the waiting room. As M walked away, the receptionist turned to me and said "Is that a seeing eye dog?" Given that my daughter very obviously was looking at the aquarium while she walked towards the chairs, it should have been amazingly obvious that she wasn't blind. I told her that she was a service dog, not a seeing eye dog and then went back to signing paperwork. The woman started to tell me that she couldn't be there but a co-worker grabbed her arm and shook her head at her. That quickly, the problem was solved.
At the end of the doctor appointments we went to Krogers, to pick up M's prescription and a couple of groceries. M, Fern and I were standing in an aisle looking for cereal when a woman came around the corner and shrieked. All 3 of us jumped and she was staring fixated on Fern. I reassured her that Fern is a service dog and perfectly behaved, but the woman was nearly panicking. Mikaela took Fern into a different aisle and I tried to reassure the woman before I left. We have definitely met people who are afraid of dogs, although most react positively when they see how absolutely calm Fern is. This was the first time I've seen an adult so absolutely panicked she froze. I feel bad for her.
There was a blip on the screen of our day and it was the cashier at Krogers. We're checking out and she asks "Are you training a service dog?" This is actually a common question, so I tell her that she's not in training, she's my daughter's service dog. She looks at me and says "Why? What's the matter with her?" I've prepared for this and I've had it happen once before but it still took me aback. I looked at her and said something along the lines of "Wow, I've never been asked that before! Don't you think that's rude?" The kid looked at me and blinked like she didn't know what to say, so I followed up with "Service dogs can be trained for many things including seizure response, mobility, PSTD and more." She kind of mumbled that there are local places that bring their dogs in for training and she thought we were one of them.
It was a very very very long day, but Fern was wonderful and definitely helped Mikaela, so there are definitely good things about it.
Here's a pic of how Fern deals with doctor appointments.
We were sent up to the children's hospital to make sure that her heart was still doing well. The entire walk from the parking garage to the EKG rooms was filled with people smiling and even cooing at Fern. We've made it a policy that if we are on a schedule we don't acknowledge people with more than a smile. It's not that we don't appreciate the positive reactions, because we absolutely do. It's just that we've learned the hard way that once you give someone the opening to talk you will be there forever. They'll want to ask questions about Fern, then they'll want to tell you all about their dog and their favorite dog experiences, too. And then more people will stop to talk when they see that you are receptive to talk and it will take 15 minutes to move away.
When we got into the EKG waiting area a receptionist looked up and said "oh no". We went up to the desk and after a minute I told M to go grab a seat for us in the waiting room. As M walked away, the receptionist turned to me and said "Is that a seeing eye dog?" Given that my daughter very obviously was looking at the aquarium while she walked towards the chairs, it should have been amazingly obvious that she wasn't blind. I told her that she was a service dog, not a seeing eye dog and then went back to signing paperwork. The woman started to tell me that she couldn't be there but a co-worker grabbed her arm and shook her head at her. That quickly, the problem was solved.
At the end of the doctor appointments we went to Krogers, to pick up M's prescription and a couple of groceries. M, Fern and I were standing in an aisle looking for cereal when a woman came around the corner and shrieked. All 3 of us jumped and she was staring fixated on Fern. I reassured her that Fern is a service dog and perfectly behaved, but the woman was nearly panicking. Mikaela took Fern into a different aisle and I tried to reassure the woman before I left. We have definitely met people who are afraid of dogs, although most react positively when they see how absolutely calm Fern is. This was the first time I've seen an adult so absolutely panicked she froze. I feel bad for her.
There was a blip on the screen of our day and it was the cashier at Krogers. We're checking out and she asks "Are you training a service dog?" This is actually a common question, so I tell her that she's not in training, she's my daughter's service dog. She looks at me and says "Why? What's the matter with her?" I've prepared for this and I've had it happen once before but it still took me aback. I looked at her and said something along the lines of "Wow, I've never been asked that before! Don't you think that's rude?" The kid looked at me and blinked like she didn't know what to say, so I followed up with "Service dogs can be trained for many things including seizure response, mobility, PSTD and more." She kind of mumbled that there are local places that bring their dogs in for training and she thought we were one of them.
It was a very very very long day, but Fern was wonderful and definitely helped Mikaela, so there are definitely good things about it.
Here's a pic of how Fern deals with doctor appointments.
Monday, April 16, 2012
TSA follow up
I completely dropped the ball on posting the update on this. Sorry to keep drawing out the story!
The TSA director at the Atlanta airport had me call her so we could discuss what happened. I repeated our story and she seemed properly appalled. She agreed that several things happened that were against policy. She asked if I remembered the name of any of the employees, but of course I didn't. So she requested I send all the information I can remember about what time we went through screening, what we were wearing, etc so she could review the tapes and find out what employees were responsible. She said that there would be retraining so this wouldn't happen again.
She seemed genuinely interested in what happened and sincere about preventing this from happening again. She told me to immediately request a supervisor if this ever happened again, but the supervisor would have immediately stopped things from progressing further. Of course, I have to take her at her word, but can you imagine how much bad press this would get if the media blew up the story? Who wants to be the jerk giving a kid with a service dog a hard time?
The TSA director at the Atlanta airport had me call her so we could discuss what happened. I repeated our story and she seemed properly appalled. She agreed that several things happened that were against policy. She asked if I remembered the name of any of the employees, but of course I didn't. So she requested I send all the information I can remember about what time we went through screening, what we were wearing, etc so she could review the tapes and find out what employees were responsible. She said that there would be retraining so this wouldn't happen again.
She seemed genuinely interested in what happened and sincere about preventing this from happening again. She told me to immediately request a supervisor if this ever happened again, but the supervisor would have immediately stopped things from progressing further. Of course, I have to take her at her word, but can you imagine how much bad press this would get if the media blew up the story? Who wants to be the jerk giving a kid with a service dog a hard time?
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Toddler time again
Over the past couple of weeks, I've come to realize that having Fern is like having a toddler again. Every time we leave the house we have to bring things specifically for Fern. A treat bag, her working vest (if we go in the car), what we affectionately know as the crap-trap (I hate people that don't clean up after their dogs!) and wipes. You should never leave the house without baby wipes, just in case. And just like every parent knows, if you bring the stuff you won't need it, but the minute you forget something that's the one item you need the most.
There are other things that are toddler like. Fern likes to have things in her mouth. She doesn't chew through things (except 1 unfortunate incident with a #2 pencil), but if she can find something mouth size, she'll grab it. The good thing is that she's very good about giving it to you when you tell her to. And she doesn't like to swallow things, she just wants to carry them around in her mouth. I bet this is a retriever thing. She usually prefers her toys, but if she finds a marker, socks, or any little toy, she'll take advantage of it. I guess the good way to look at it is that we now have a very clean house, just out of necessity.
Fern really enjoys full attention on her. You want proof? Every time I pull out my laptop, she does her best to climb in my lap. She'll put her head on the keyboard, or her paws on my chest, or even flop her duck across my hands. It's not that she doesn't get enough attention or even that she desperately needs something. If I close the laptop, she blithely bounces away, so it's not that she wants to be petted. Oh no, she just wants to make sure that I don't do anything that could possibly deflect my attention from her. And heaven help Mikaela if she tries to do her homework. More than one paper has been turned in with dog slobber marks.
Don't get me wrong, she's totally worth it and it's not completely unexpected. Still, I'm torn between amusement and exasperation about a third of the time we're home. She never has a problem when she's out in public, which is most important. It just reinforces that when she is in her vest, she's a working dog, but when she's out of her vest, she's still a 19 month old dog. A relatively calm 19 month old for the most part, but she's still barely out of the puppy stage.
There are other things that are toddler like. Fern likes to have things in her mouth. She doesn't chew through things (except 1 unfortunate incident with a #2 pencil), but if she can find something mouth size, she'll grab it. The good thing is that she's very good about giving it to you when you tell her to. And she doesn't like to swallow things, she just wants to carry them around in her mouth. I bet this is a retriever thing. She usually prefers her toys, but if she finds a marker, socks, or any little toy, she'll take advantage of it. I guess the good way to look at it is that we now have a very clean house, just out of necessity.
Fern really enjoys full attention on her. You want proof? Every time I pull out my laptop, she does her best to climb in my lap. She'll put her head on the keyboard, or her paws on my chest, or even flop her duck across my hands. It's not that she doesn't get enough attention or even that she desperately needs something. If I close the laptop, she blithely bounces away, so it's not that she wants to be petted. Oh no, she just wants to make sure that I don't do anything that could possibly deflect my attention from her. And heaven help Mikaela if she tries to do her homework. More than one paper has been turned in with dog slobber marks.
Don't get me wrong, she's totally worth it and it's not completely unexpected. Still, I'm torn between amusement and exasperation about a third of the time we're home. She never has a problem when she's out in public, which is most important. It just reinforces that when she is in her vest, she's a working dog, but when she's out of her vest, she's still a 19 month old dog. A relatively calm 19 month old for the most part, but she's still barely out of the puppy stage.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Fern at the beach
We took an impromptu trip to the beach yesterday. It's only an hour away, so it's an easy trip to make in an afternoon, as long as you don't run into heavy traffic. In addition to normal people stuff, we brought extra water, a travel bowl, treats, a rawhide bone and a toy for Fern, just in case. Traveling with Fern is a lot like traveling with a toddler. If you don't bring it, you'll need it, but if you bring it you look like a dork carrying a huge bag.
I was the one who held the leash while we were there because if Fern bolted it could dislocate Mika's shoulder or break a bone. Fern wasn't real fond of the loose sand, but she had no problems on the harder packed sand. After staking our territory with a blanket we went for an easy walk along the beach so Mika could collect seashells and I could get Fern used to the sights and smells of the beach. The beach was covered in dried out seaweed and Fern had to stop and sniff every single clump. It was slow going, but she had a great time.
BTW, I should preface the rest of the story with the reminder that Fern is never allowed off her leash if she's not in a safe, fenced area. Therefore, I was holding her leash during the entire trip and, boy, did my arms get a work out!
I let Mika wade up to her knees in the surf and Fern kept pulling to get to her. Fern and I are buddies when Mika is not around, but the minute Fern sees her, all she wants to do is get to Mika as fast as possible. I let Fern get close to the water and check it out. We were still far enough back that only every 7th or 8th wave came up enough to get our feet wet. The first couple of times Fern would move forward to follow the waves, and then come bounding back the minute they actually touched her feet.
I let her move a little closer to the water and Fern jumped in head first. She came up and ran right towards me and I thought she was scared, but she threw herself down at my feet and let the waves run over her back. The crazy dog loved it! She would bite at the waves, then spring up on all four feet at once like a bucking horse and try to jump on the water. She got so excited she pulled hard on the leash and spun me in a circle. I had come prepared for her being unruly and I grabbed a treat from my handy-dandy treat bag. When I told her to 'freeze' she stopped pulling and looked back at me, so she got a treat. She finished chewing, looked at me again and pulled me in a circle once again. As soon as I told her 'freeze' she did and got another treat. It took me 3 times to figure out that Fern was doing it to get the treat. Once she didn't get a treat for her 'freeze' she stopped. That dog is wily, I tell you.
We were only there about 90 minutes but both kid and dog had a great time. Fern was almost wild on the way back to the car, but she was asleep in the backseat before we were fully out of the parking lot. Fern is such a water dog and I feel bad that I don't know of a safe place for her to splash to her heart's content. And I can tell you for sure that she doesn't consider bath water fun to splash it. :-)
I was the one who held the leash while we were there because if Fern bolted it could dislocate Mika's shoulder or break a bone. Fern wasn't real fond of the loose sand, but she had no problems on the harder packed sand. After staking our territory with a blanket we went for an easy walk along the beach so Mika could collect seashells and I could get Fern used to the sights and smells of the beach. The beach was covered in dried out seaweed and Fern had to stop and sniff every single clump. It was slow going, but she had a great time.
BTW, I should preface the rest of the story with the reminder that Fern is never allowed off her leash if she's not in a safe, fenced area. Therefore, I was holding her leash during the entire trip and, boy, did my arms get a work out!
I let Mika wade up to her knees in the surf and Fern kept pulling to get to her. Fern and I are buddies when Mika is not around, but the minute Fern sees her, all she wants to do is get to Mika as fast as possible. I let Fern get close to the water and check it out. We were still far enough back that only every 7th or 8th wave came up enough to get our feet wet. The first couple of times Fern would move forward to follow the waves, and then come bounding back the minute they actually touched her feet.
I let her move a little closer to the water and Fern jumped in head first. She came up and ran right towards me and I thought she was scared, but she threw herself down at my feet and let the waves run over her back. The crazy dog loved it! She would bite at the waves, then spring up on all four feet at once like a bucking horse and try to jump on the water. She got so excited she pulled hard on the leash and spun me in a circle. I had come prepared for her being unruly and I grabbed a treat from my handy-dandy treat bag. When I told her to 'freeze' she stopped pulling and looked back at me, so she got a treat. She finished chewing, looked at me again and pulled me in a circle once again. As soon as I told her 'freeze' she did and got another treat. It took me 3 times to figure out that Fern was doing it to get the treat. Once she didn't get a treat for her 'freeze' she stopped. That dog is wily, I tell you.
We were only there about 90 minutes but both kid and dog had a great time. Fern was almost wild on the way back to the car, but she was asleep in the backseat before we were fully out of the parking lot. Fern is such a water dog and I feel bad that I don't know of a safe place for her to splash to her heart's content. And I can tell you for sure that she doesn't consider bath water fun to splash it. :-)
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Fern's squeaky toy
Here's a video showing how much she loves it. The good news is that she has really calmed down on the need to squeak it and I'm now only occasionally hear it in the middle of the night.
I just played this video on my computer to make sure it was the right one. Fern was in the living room sound asleep. At the first sound of the squeaky toy, so jumped up and came running to see if I had her bone. It's funny because she had been sleeping with it at the time.
I just played this video on my computer to make sure it was the right one. Fern was in the living room sound asleep. At the first sound of the squeaky toy, so jumped up and came running to see if I had her bone. It's funny because she had been sleeping with it at the time.
The girl likes her toys
I've spent all evening getting ready for Easter festivities. Cookies are now cooling, dyed eggs are now drying under Mika's watchful gaze and I've got the goodies for her Easter basket hidden around the house. I wanted to take some time and get some photos uploaded. It seems like a good way to fill in between the boiled eggs cooling and the cookies coming out of the oven, but once again I've completely underestimated how long I spend on the blog. I'm an addict!
Back on topic. While the dogs are growing and learning at the CA farm they have lots of Kong balls to play with (they really are indestructible) but they share. No dog has their very own toy for a number of reasons. Can you imagine trying to keep 50 balls straight? It would be a nightmare. So on our 1st outing we got Fern a couple of toys, not realizing how much she would adore them. The two tennis balls lasted a couple of days before they were thrown away. The duck stayed and we added Bogey on our second outing. I'm honestly not sure how Bogey got his name, but this long yellow plush dog is a favorite. She picked up a smaller, purple version of Bogey at PetSmart when we made an emergency stop for poop bags. Her newest favorite is a plush bone. The MilkBone representative gave it to Mika at her presentation ceremony because they were a main sponsor for her dog. BTW, so was Sam's Club.
Fern enjoys showing her toys off, but she doesn't really want you to touch them. Instead, she'll carry them back and forth between me and Mika to make sure we both see how wonderful it is, then she'll carefully pick the spot she wants to lay down and place it there. Then it's repeated with two or three other toys. She usually brings at least one up into Mika's bed to sleep.
I'm going to try and upload some pics of her and her babies. Last time I tried to get more than two pics on the same post, it froze the upload, so I'll see what I can do. I also have a video of Fern playing with her 1st squeaky toy. She REALLY likes to squeak that toy when she's in the right mood.
BTW, ignore the mess in the the this one, we had been home for about 45 minutes total. Oh, and her newest trick is to carry two at the same time.
Back on topic. While the dogs are growing and learning at the CA farm they have lots of Kong balls to play with (they really are indestructible) but they share. No dog has their very own toy for a number of reasons. Can you imagine trying to keep 50 balls straight? It would be a nightmare. So on our 1st outing we got Fern a couple of toys, not realizing how much she would adore them. The two tennis balls lasted a couple of days before they were thrown away. The duck stayed and we added Bogey on our second outing. I'm honestly not sure how Bogey got his name, but this long yellow plush dog is a favorite. She picked up a smaller, purple version of Bogey at PetSmart when we made an emergency stop for poop bags. Her newest favorite is a plush bone. The MilkBone representative gave it to Mika at her presentation ceremony because they were a main sponsor for her dog. BTW, so was Sam's Club.
Fern enjoys showing her toys off, but she doesn't really want you to touch them. Instead, she'll carry them back and forth between me and Mika to make sure we both see how wonderful it is, then she'll carefully pick the spot she wants to lay down and place it there. Then it's repeated with two or three other toys. She usually brings at least one up into Mika's bed to sleep.
I'm going to try and upload some pics of her and her babies. Last time I tried to get more than two pics on the same post, it froze the upload, so I'll see what I can do. I also have a video of Fern playing with her 1st squeaky toy. She REALLY likes to squeak that toy when she's in the right mood.
Thank you Pearland
I have to give a huge shout out to our current town of Pearland. In the back of my mind I have been braced for negative reactions in relation to Fern. I have worked with Mika on how we will respond to people who question us and people who refuse us access. We had one issue the first night we were hear, from an ER nurse, of all people. He must have gotten ripped by a supervisor because he came to find us and profusely apologized.
We have taken Fern to Target, Michaels, groceries stores, libraries, Lowes and more and never once have we had any negative reactions. Most people are extremely respectful and will briefly look, then go about their business. We've had kids stop to stare and their parents will tell them that the dog is working and needs to be left alone. We heard one parent call her a 'helper', which I thought was a really great response to her 3 or 4 year old. Another parent told her child that it was a 'police dog' and she had to be left alone so she could catch bad guys. Mika and I struggled not to laugh at that one, but I appreciate the sentiment. We have only had a couple of people ask to pet her and they were very careful in how they approached us, as if expecting to be snapped at.
There are service dog trainers that have a firm no-petting rule while the dog is in the vest and I can understand why. As of right now, we have agreed to let Fern decide. She is usually very reserved around strangers, especially in her vest. If you watch her body language, it's easy to see if she is willing to get close to a person. I would never let anyone reach over her head, but anyone who has approached us has always held their hand out for her to sniff. After she sniffs a person, she'll either lick their hand, which means she's ok with being petted, or she'll back up, which means no thanks. If she backs up, she'll usually offer her paw to shake instead. We have never given her the cue to do that, so she truly decides on her own. She's a smart dog, and I have full faith in what she decides.
We're off to the main library of the big city, so we'll see how that goes, but if the citizens of Pearland are any indication we should have no problems at all. It's so nice to be pleasantly surprised in mankind.
We have taken Fern to Target, Michaels, groceries stores, libraries, Lowes and more and never once have we had any negative reactions. Most people are extremely respectful and will briefly look, then go about their business. We've had kids stop to stare and their parents will tell them that the dog is working and needs to be left alone. We heard one parent call her a 'helper', which I thought was a really great response to her 3 or 4 year old. Another parent told her child that it was a 'police dog' and she had to be left alone so she could catch bad guys. Mika and I struggled not to laugh at that one, but I appreciate the sentiment. We have only had a couple of people ask to pet her and they were very careful in how they approached us, as if expecting to be snapped at.
There are service dog trainers that have a firm no-petting rule while the dog is in the vest and I can understand why. As of right now, we have agreed to let Fern decide. She is usually very reserved around strangers, especially in her vest. If you watch her body language, it's easy to see if she is willing to get close to a person. I would never let anyone reach over her head, but anyone who has approached us has always held their hand out for her to sniff. After she sniffs a person, she'll either lick their hand, which means she's ok with being petted, or she'll back up, which means no thanks. If she backs up, she'll usually offer her paw to shake instead. We have never given her the cue to do that, so she truly decides on her own. She's a smart dog, and I have full faith in what she decides.
We're off to the main library of the big city, so we'll see how that goes, but if the citizens of Pearland are any indication we should have no problems at all. It's so nice to be pleasantly surprised in mankind.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Sick puppy
If you have a squeamish stomach, I'll be talking about dog intestinal issues, so you may want to avoid this post.
Fern started having loose stools yesterday and as of this morning officially has diarrhea. She acts fine, so she isn't overtly sick. They warned us about this at camp. The stress of moving to a new home and being exposed to new things every day, as well as switching from the EN prescription food at camp back to their normal dog food may upset their stomachs too, even though we slowly transitioned. So I left a message at the CA vet clinic and am waiting for a call back. They said you can give a dog Immodium AD, so I bet that's going to be the next step, but I don't want to do anything until I know for sure what they say. Poor thing.
Fern started having loose stools yesterday and as of this morning officially has diarrhea. She acts fine, so she isn't overtly sick. They warned us about this at camp. The stress of moving to a new home and being exposed to new things every day, as well as switching from the EN prescription food at camp back to their normal dog food may upset their stomachs too, even though we slowly transitioned. So I left a message at the CA vet clinic and am waiting for a call back. They said you can give a dog Immodium AD, so I bet that's going to be the next step, but I don't want to do anything until I know for sure what they say. Poor thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)