Thunderstorms

I was sitting here earlier and all of a sudden it started raining. I wasn't expecting it at all, because it was so nice earlier in the day, but I didn't pay too much attention to it because Sophie was sleeping on the couch, and Keisha was asleep in her crate.

All of a sudden I heard rumbling in the distance, and convinced myself it must be a train because the rain had either stopped, or calmed down a lot. Then there was a huge clap of thunder and the thunderstorms started!

I had been in the middle of doing laundry, so decided to wait a few minutes and see what happened before shutting off the washing machine, but I turned off the tv, and anything else that was on and unplugged my laptop. I wasn't in the mood for any type of freaky disaster tonight, and anyone who knows me knows what kind of magnet I am for weird, unexpected things happening to me!

There was quite a bit of thunder, and I knew there was lightening because the air felt really staticy. I was half expecting Keisha to start howling, or getting upset. She lets you know when she's unhappy about something believe me! Whenever the fire alarms go off, she will wait a few minutes and when they don't stop she sits down and howls the most mournful sounding howls you have ever heard!

Tonight, she just watched me, and slept! I was so surprised I didn't know what to do! I've come to expect this frome Sophie, but it's such a nice surprise when Keisha stays perfectly calm in a time like that. I just felt like I had to write about it.

We are suppose to have thunderstorms throughout the earlier part of the day, but seeing how they started around midnight, and were about eight hours early, I'm hoping we don't have any more. I'm planning on cleaning the kitchen today, and would like to open the patio door while I'm mopping the floor and things. It's so hot here now, and the air conditioning isn't working right. I think we may need new batteries. That will be a job for Julian when he gets back.

I guess Keisha just proved that she can be a nice calm dog when she wants to be!

"Under"

What you will need:

a clicker - I use the i-click because the button is really easy to push no matter how you are holding it on.

treats - I use portion of Keisha's kibble for that day. That way she won't gain extra weight. If your dog is not interested in their regular food, you can use other treats.

a chair - You can use a chair, or any other object that your dog can fit under.

Once you have everything you need, place the chair in a place where it is easily accessible for all sides. Sit on the floor, holding the clicker in one hand and make sure the treats are within easy reach. I usually put them in a cup by my side, out of Keisha's view.

Call your dog over, and put a treat under the chair. As soon as your dog puts it's head under the chair click. This will show your dog right from the beginning what you what them to focus their attention on. Some people would rather sit around and wiat for their dog to figure this out for themselves, but it can take a long time if the dog has no idea what you are expecting of them.

Next, I pick up a piece of kibble (or treat), and hold it under the chair. When your dog puts it's head under the chair click immediately and give them the treat. Each time your dog puts it's head under the chair, wait until a bit more of their body is under it before clicking and giving them a treat. Once they are putting their whole body under the chair you can do one of two things.

You could start adding the command "under" as your dog goes under the chair. To do this I say "under" just before the click, then give the treat. Some people say the word after the click, but saying it right before the click works best for Keisha. If you use this method, once your dog understnads the command "under", you can gradually phase out the click and treat. Once you get to this stage, when your dog goes "under" you can put them in a down, stay.

If you want your dog to do a "down" automatically like I do, you can use this method. When your dog is putting it's whole body under the chair, if you wait beofre clicking, they will probably try to lay down. Wait until they start to do a "down" and click. When they are going "under" and laying down for you, start adding the command "under". Again, you can do this right before the click and treat. Pretty soon, when given the command "under" your dog will go under the chair, and lay down. At this point, you can phase out the click and treat and you have successfully taught your dog to do an "under"!

You can put your dog in a stay once they are "under", and even give them a favorite chew toy or bone to chew on while they are under a chair, or even a table. This can come in handy when you have company, and there are a lot of people in a room because it keeps your dog safe from being stepped on, and your guests won't have to step over your dog to move arounf the room. Your dog will also probably be happier than they normally would be when guests come to visit because they will be part of the group, instead of having to stay in another room, or in their crate.

Hope I didn't wake the neighbours

It's funny how little things can turn into huge productions sometimes when you least expect it. I was just sitting here, as you do when you can't stand, reading a blog and Keisha had an accident in her crate. Of course I was in a hurry to clean it up before she stepped in it, and grabbed the bag that was behind me.

In my haste, I thought I would just open up the door of her crate, bend down and scoop up the offending deposit. No problem right? Wrong! I have very poor nearly non-existent balance. I took my feet off my footrest, so I could lean forward onto my legs, opened the door of the crate, leaned forward with bag on hand and reached out. That was probably the worst thing I could have done because my wheelchair started slipping out from under me and all of my weight was leaning into the floor.

With no hope of sitting upright in time, I slid forward, tipping the crate so the side closest to me lifted off of the floor. Of course me falling headfirst into the crate sent Keisha into a fit and she started jumping around thinking I was playing with her.

It's past midnight, and I had already yelled "ow" when my chin hit the crate mid fall, and then Keisha scratched my face, and I let out another "ow" loud enough to wake anyone within a hundred foot radius! I was too busy trying not to fall face first into a pile of fresh dog poo, and trying to get Keisha to calm down I didn't even realize how loud I was until after I had yelled.

For a few minutes I was fully expecting someone to knock on my door to see if everyone was still alive in here! I guess that's one way to keep life interesting!

"Under" my wheelchair

Yesterday we worked on "under" and "paws up" using the little table I mentioned earlier. It went well, and by the end of the day Keisha was so tired, she went to sleep as soon as I put her in her crate for the night.

Today I started using the table for "under", but then had a thought. I was sitting on the floor, and thought why don't I use my wheelchair! It's the perfect thing because when using the table sometimes Keisha lets her back end roll out from under it, and sometimes she sticks her head out from under it.

She's been having naps under my wheelchair since she was a little puppy. I guess she feels protected while under me, and she can still stay close. I pulled my wheelchair in front of me, and held a piece of kibble between the back and front wheel. I told her "under" and she crouched down, went right under it and curled up!

This is perfect because she should fit under there even when she's fully grown. A lot of the time it's hard to fit Sophie under tables at restaurants because the table is so small and the front of my wheelchair takes up so much space under there. Sometimes there's a pedestal in the middle of the table, and she has to lay at the side of it, and a lot of the time she ends up having to squeeze along the side of the table in the aisle.

By teaching Keisha to lay under me all of these problems are solved! She can tuck herself under me between my back wheels and as long as there is room enough for me at the table, she will have enough room too!

Of course she can lay under tables when there is enough room so she can stretch out more, but having her laying under me can come in handy in more than one situation. If we are in a situation where it is crowded, and I am staying in one place, she can do this, and she can also do this on public transportation when there isn't room for her to lay in front of me or at my side, just to name a few.

This could really come in handy! I'm not sure why service dog schools don't use this.

Guiding Commands

Heel - Walk on a loose leash at my left side.

Forward - Move forward in a straight line, while avoiding obstacles and people when necessary until she comes to a curb, where she stops or until she is given another command.

Right - Turn right if it is safe and/or possible to do so.

Left - Turn left if it is safe and/or possible to do so.

Hup Up - Walk faster, or pay attention.

Steady - Slow down or be extra careful.

Halt - Stop walking immediately, but stay standing.

Follow - Follow a designated person such as a waiter to a restaurant table, sales person in a store, etc.

Find the curb - Walk up to the edge of a curb cut, centering us in the middle and staying a safe distance from the edge of the street and traffic. Then sit and wait for the "Forward" command. If it is not safe to cross stay sitting and refuse to move. If there are people blocking the curb cut, get as close to the curb cut as possible, sit and wait until the "forward" command is given. Stay sitting until it is safe to cross.

Find the door - Walk to the nearest door and wait. If there is a button to open the door wait by the button. If the door opens on it's own, wait for the "forward" command, then continue through.

Find the elevator - Walk to the nearest elevator door and wait in front of the buttons.

Teaching "under"

I just started teaching Keisha "under". This is a very useful command for a service dog of any kind. It can be used to get them under tables, chairs or other pieces of furniture so they don't get stepped on. It really comes in handy when at a restaurant or on public transportation when there is not much space.

I used one of the tables like the one in this picture for this task. It's the right height, because Keisha can easily fit under it, but at the same time she has to duck. This is perfect because she can fit under it easily, but she has to be very aware of the table the whole time. This way she understands the concept of "under" better. Once she understands it better, I will start using things that are higher, and other things that are smaller. The goal is to have her comfortable with laying in small spaces that are new, like under the seat in front of me on an airplane. Sophie is a really great traveller, and I'm hoping to teach Keisha to become one as well.

I started off pulling the table to the center of the living room, and filling the front pocket of my hoodie with kibble. (I must remember to make sure the pocket is completely empty before venturing outside!) I used a clicker, and kept Keisha on her leash. I did this to keep her attention, and because I had the balcony door open. It was too hot to close it.

I sat on the floor in front of the table, and used some of the kibble to lure her under the table. She put her head under it a few times to eat the food, and I clicked. She understood in a few minutes exactly what I wanted from her!

She started going under the table and out the other side, or just standing crouched down under it. Each time I clicked and gave her a treat. Then she started offering another behaviour. She would go under the table and lay down. This was perfect! I hadn't been planning it, but if that was what she wanted to do it was great because after going under something, I would put her in a down, stay anyway!

I had been clicking as soon as her whole body was under the table, so I guess she thought that when her whole body was under it she should lay down. I tried turning the table at different angles, and getting her to go "under" from different sides. She did great!

I had been sitting on the floor for awhile, and thought I'd end it on a good note, like always so I played with her a bit before getting up. She was jumping around and having a great time. She didn't jump at my face like she used to when she was a puppy. She didn't do it to be aggressive before, but when she got too excited she didn't pay attention to where her body was going. As I was getting up off the floor I realized that while we were playing a bunch of kibble had fallen out of my pocket and she was eating it off the floor.

I'll do some more "under" with her tomorrow. She's outside now watching the cat from next door. Oh, speaking of the cat, when I was working with her, the cat was outside and she saw it through the open door. She watched it until I said her name, and then ignored it! I was really surprised, and happy at the same time!

It's bath time again

I'm going to give Keisha a bath later today. She really needs one. She's in her crate relaxing right now. I kept her in there while I was cleaning the living room because I didn't want to run her over by accident when I was vacuuming. It's hard enough operating a wheelchair and vacuum at the same time, without having to worry about if your husky is under your wheels!

I still have to clean up the kitchen, and vacuum the hallway, then it's time for her bath. She's funny because she likes taking showers instead of baths. She stands on her back legs, with her front legs leaning on my bath bench and I use the hand held shower to wash her. It's great because we have really deep soaker tubs, and it's really hard to reach her when she's not leaning on my bench. She also likes the water to be at a certain temperature.

Her favorite part of bath time though is when she is getting dried off. I put a big towel around her, and hold her on my lap and cuddle her while I'm drying her. It's one of the few times she will actually stay still and cuddle! She's so different than Sophie, who doesn't like water (even though she's a Labrador Retriever), and loves to cuddle whenever she can!

Well, I guess I'll go finish watching The Simpsons. Oh, Julian just called, so I'll talk to him instead!

No automatic doors around here

I thought I'd put a photo from Keisha's little puppy days on this post, because I don't have one of an automatic door button.

On my way back from the store this morning, I stopped by the front desk downstairs and asked the concierge if there were any automatic doors in these buildings. (The kind where you push a button and the door opens). I thought I would teach Keisha to push these buttons to open doors. Maybe not today, but at least I'd know where these doors were.

After thinking about it, he said there were none. He knew what I was talking about because he asked if I meant the doors where you push a botton to open them. When I thought about it more, I think the building next door might have some at their enterence. I'm not 100% sure, but I will find out later. If they do, I'll ask if I can use them to teach Keisha how to use them. I'm sure they won't mind as the buildings are connected because we all share the amenities here.

This building has the pool, spa, bbq area and basketball court, while the other one has the movie theatre, gym, billiards room, and party room. There are also another two buildings (one on either side of these two buildings) that are connected and use our facilities too. I'm sure out of all four buildings there is at least one automatic door! There is a button you have to press to open the door to get to the spa and pool area. That one is way too high for Keisha to reach though, and you still have to open the door yourself. It just unlocks the door for you. It's kind of pointless really because it's only locked from the other side so people from the other two buildings can't get into our building or the other one. It's only actually locked from the other side, and is opened using a keyfob that is programed to open the doors in the building where you are allowed to have access.

If there are no automatic doors close by, I'll have to put that training off until later. When I think about it, I can't remember where the automatic doors are in the places I've been!

Teaching "paws up"

I woke up before 3am this morning, just before Julian called. After talking to him for awhile, and eating breakfast I decided to teach Keisha "paws up".

In my case, "paws up" will be the command for her to put both of her front paws up on counters so she can pass money or items to cashiers, or for her to take money or items from them if I can't reach. It will also come in handy if I'm waiting at a counter that is too tall for the people behind it to notice me. I'm sure they will notice a husky's head popping over the top of the counter within seconds!

"Paws up" will also let her know that I want her to put her front paws on my legs. This will make it easier when putting her harness on, when she is passing me things, and when she is reaching things on shelves that are too high for me.

I will also use the "paws up" command when she is putting trash into trash cans, and helping with laundry. It's one of those commands that will be used a lot, and for a number of different situations.

I started taaching her, using the tv stand. It's at a good height for her (she can lay her head on it when standing), and she likes to lay the top half of her body on it already. Using a clicker, and some of her kibble, I was able to teach her this in a very short time.

I started off by tapping the top of the tv stand with my hand, and clicking when she put her paws on it. Next, I added the words "paws up" with the click. Then I said "paws up" and clicked when she did it. I'm sure I will have to work a bit more on this, but I stopped when she was more interested in going outside. There's no point in making her concentrate on things when she want's to do something else. It's not fun anymore then, and her full attention isn't on what I'm trying to teach anymore.

The great thing is, she is at the right size to do a lot more now. She was too short for a lot of the things before, but now at 18 1/2 inches high (at the shoulders), she can do a lot of the things she couldn't before, and a lot of things are not as difficult now.

Once she has "paws up" mastered I will be teaching her "under".

Keisha and the cats next door

There are two cats next door. I'm sure I mentioned them in earlier posts. Before I got Keisha they would come onto our patio and watch us through our windows, and one of them even came inside and wandered into the living room. Sophie just watched them with curiousity from afar and they would look at her wondering what she was.

Then Keisha moved in. A rambunctious little ball of fur, that barked at them and tried to run after them, even at nine weeks old. Boy, were they surprised!

Of course a guide or service dog can't walk down the street eating every cat it sees. It just wouldn't work out. I took advantage of our neighbours cats right from the start. Whenever they came around I would show them to Keisha and sit in the doorway with her on a very short leash. She knew she shouldn't hurt them, although I'm sure her instinct said different, being a husky.

I'd sit there, with her leash in my hand letting her watch the cats, and letting her get closer as they got use to each other. At this point she wasn't much bigger than the cats. She kept watching them, and they would move closer. Eventually one of the cats would come within a foot of her, and they would just stare at each other.

Now, one of the cats won't come near, but the other one comes to the end of the railing that seperates our patio from the one next door. The cat lays down and Keisha goes to the end of her leash and they just watch each other. If either of them makes a sudden move, the other one runs away. Have you ever seen a husky run away form a cat?! It's funny, because Keisha is a lot bigger now.

They also play a game sometimes where the cat will lay by the railing, and they will watch each other for awhile. Then the cat will get up and move around the other patio, looking under the railing. Keisha jumps around, looking under the railing to find it. They play their litte game of hide and go seek for awhile until the cat gets hungry, or Keisha gets bored and they go inside again.

It's great that these cats live next door. They really come in handy for training Keisha.

A very productive morning

It's 9:37am on a Saturday and I already have the living room re-arranged and cleaned and a load of laundry almost washed. I also emptied the dishwasher and loaded it again.

I couldn't sleep this morning, so I decided I would get up. I started thinking about moving a couple of things in the living room. I had been thinking about it for awhile now, but couldn't decide what to mvoe where.

I decided this morning that Keisha didn't really need her crate in the living room. In the day when she's out it just gets in the way of her running around. I haven't decided evactly what to do with her crate yet, but for now it's in the hall by my office. She's laying accross it trying to get as close as she can to me right now having a nap.

Since I got her, her crate hasn't really moved. I turned it around just before Christmas for awhile until the tree was put up, but she's always been in the dame corner. I'm not sure what she will think of being in a different room. If she really doesn't like it, I could always put her crate in the corner next to the couch. I tried this earlier today, but then decided to put Sophie's bed in front of the window instead. I thought both of them would like to use it then. Not together of course! Sophie would not like that at all. She's sleeping in the chair right now, so I might move her bed back into the bedroom and put Keisha's crate in that corner anyway. I could put Keisha's small bed in front of the window where Sophie's bed is now and they can both use it. Problem solved!

I could also leave her crate where it is right now for awhile until Julian gets back. I don't use the bathroom that it's blocking off, and it will get her use to sleeping in a different place. I guess I'll figure it out when I'm done cleaning up. I still have to clean off the table, finish doing tha laundry and tidy the kitchen. I also have a DIY project going on in the bedroom that involves Loctite and an Ikea bed.

Before I end this post here is a question for dog owners that use crates.

Where do you keep your dogs crate?

The beginnings of "tug"

I worked on "tug" with Keisha earlier today. It didn't take her long to figure out what to do. I've noticed that when teaching her something new for the first time she does a lot better if she is on her lead or if she can't run around the whole apartment.

She was in her crate, so I thought I would start out with her in there. I have an extra leash I had when she was a little puppy that has a broken clip. It's been on the door handle to the patio for a long time now, so I took it off and used it for her to tug with.

In a very short time she was tugging and having a lot of fun. She concentrates a lot better when there are not a lot of distractions and she knows she can't run around wherever she wants to. The next time we work on this, I will use her lead and then maybe go into the kitchen and work off lead., until we work up to doing it when she is free to explore the apartment and do whatever she wants.

I do keep the sessions short, and when she quits showing interest we stop. A lot of people wont agree with not letting her off lead from the beginning, but this is what works best for her. It's so hard to keep her attention at first if she is left to roam around and find other things that interest her.

She is "practicing" her "tug" with her leash on the door handle now. This one is going to be a very easy command to teach because she is really interested in doing it and has a lot of fun with it!

When do Husky's stop growing?

A few days ago I measured Keisha. She is 18 1/2 inches tall at her shoulders. Female Siberian Husky's are suppose to grow from 20 to 22 inches tall. This would be a great height for a service dog for me becuase she would be high enough to hold her harness without having my arm resting on her back.

Sophie is 20 1/2 inches high, which is pretty short for a Lab, but the perfect height for me. I'm getting a bit concerned about Keisha's height though. Even though she is not that much shorter than Sophie, because she is smaller around her body she seems a lot shorter. Lab.'s are a lot more solid than Huskies in their body.

I'm hoping Keisha grows taller than 20 inches. Although if she stops growing at 20 inches and she is at a good height, that would be ok too.

She's had a couple of major growth spurts so far, but her growth seems to be slowing down now. I'm not sure at what age they are suppose to stop growing, and when their growth slows down. If anyone knows this, and feels like leaving a comment that would be great!

She's running in and out of the living room right now playing tug with the extra leash that is connected to the door handle. It's great that she's interested in playing tug because it will come in handy for a lot of tasks she will do later.

It's funny because her breeder said that Husky's are usually not interested in retrieving and I'd be lucky if I could get her to retrieve things for me. Then awhile before I got Keisha the breeder said she had been playing fetch with her!

She';s so much like a Lab.! I guess it's because she's been around Sophie since she was 9 weeks old and a lot of Sophie's Lab. ways have rubbed off on her. It's great because Lab.'s have so many great qualities for guide and service work.

Little thing, big fuss!

Keisha had been outside most of yesterday. I had Sophie's FlexiLeash attached to the handle on the sliding door so she could go out and come in as she pleased.

She was running back and forth most of the day. Then all of a sudden she started barking. When I called her, she stopped and came inside, but would go back out and bark again. I didn't want the neighbours to get underwear in a knot about it, so I took her inside and put her in her crate.

It was getting late anyway, and I thought it was bedtime Ms. Husky anyway. Sophie was already asleep on the couch. I put Keisha into her crate and went back to watching tv.

All of a sudden she started barking again. She usually makes all kinds of "Husky noises", but only barks when she's really excited, or wants supper really bad. I told her to be quiet, but she continued barking away.

I went over to her crate to find out what she was barking about, and couldn't find anything. She was looking out the window though. I thought it might be one of the cats that live next door, but couldn't hear anything.

It was beginning to freak me out a little. Our balcony is on the same level as the barbecue area that is shared by these two buildings. Now that the weather has warmed up, people are out there quite a bit. I could hear some people in the distance, but couldn't tell if they were out there, or on a balcony. I have had a problem with balls being thrown onto our balcony and people always jumping over to get them, so it wouldn't have surprised me too much if someone was on my balcony.

I closed the door and locked it, and felt pretty uneasy until Keisha finally decided to go to sleep. When I went over to her, she sat down next to me and just kept watching whatever it was that was outside. I still thought it was one of the cats, or something that was blowing around when I went to bed.

Today as I was cleaning up outside I found out what all of the comotion was about. There was a drink can outside! People above us always throw their trash onto our patio. It really gets on my last nerve! I guess Keisha saw it and didn't know what it was.

Now I've got a real dilemma on my hands. Do I teach her not to bark at things at all, or do I let her in certain situations. I have to admit I was thinking it was nice if she let me know something was happening outside my door that wasn't suppose to be. Maybe I can teach her to alert me of things like that. It could really come in handy when you can't see!

Sleepy Husky

Until recently, Keisha didn't feel comfortable sleeping out in the open. She would sleep in her crate, under the end table near her crate, or under my wheelchair. I guess she felt protected in these places. If her crate door was shut, she would sleepily stagger around until I let her in and she would finally collapse in the corner of her crate for a nice long snooze!

Lately I've had the sliding patio door open and she's been on an extendable lead that is attached to the door handle. This way she can go in and out as she pleases, and Sophie, my guide dog can have a break from random husky tackles as Keisha tries to play with her. It has worked out really well! She hasn't had an accident inside since I've started doing this!

She hasn't had bedding in her crate since I got her because she keeps eating it, and seems to think it's as good a place as any to pee on! I've had a nice crate pad for her since I got the crate, but the only time it's been used is if Sophie happened to lay on it. I put it on the floor outside of her crate last week and she's been playing with it, tossing it into the air, chewing on it, and basically doing everything with it except sleeping on it. Today after I vacuumed I put the pad on the floor next to the side of her crate and as soon as I let her out she bunched it up and started chewing on it again. I was beginning to wonder if she would ever have a nice bed to lay on! Then tonight, to my surprise she bunched up the pad and had a nap on it! She's had a couple of naps on it since supper, and is sleeping on it right now.

I guess there's hope after all!