"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.

"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.

Keisha’s first Christmas

I haven’t written in awhile. Christmas went well. The tree was left standing, and I only had to re-decorate the bottom of it because Keisha runs under it sometimes, and the only ornament that was broken was by me! I don’t think that’s toobad at all! I even decorated the side of the kitchen counter and Keisha didn’t bother it at all! I’ve been very impressed!

On Christmas morning my mom called and I sat in front of the tree while I was talking to her to open our gifts. I helped Sophie open her stuffed snowman that my mom gave her, and then I let Keisha out of her crate. I put the short leash on her to keep her from diving into the gifts! She had been wanting to get at them when I was putting them under the tree the night before! I gave her the gift my mom sent her and she ripped it open herself. She tore at the paper and then shook her head really fast so the paper flew off. It was a stuffed gingerbread man that smells like gingerbread! She loves it! It actually smells really good. My mom also sent them a huge box of treats in the shape of a dog house. It has ten bags of treats in it. That should last them awhile!

On Boxing Day my uncle and cousin came to visit. It was the first time Keisha met them and she was so excited I had to keep her in her crate for most of the time they were here. Sophie was really excited to see Uncle Glen again too!

I’ve noticed that Keisha is growing out of her biting stage lately! I’m so glad! She use to try to bite everything! Now when she’s really excited she will still bite at my hand a bit, but she mostly licks now. I think some of it has to do with working on targeting with her. I use my hand as the target because I thought that I could teach her both the targeting and teach her to not bite at the same time.

She has also learned “sit”, “down”, “come”, “stay” and we are working on “heel”. She will have “heel” completed really soon and we are continuing to work on staying for longer periods of time. I know it might seem like a painfully slow process, but I am making sure she knows one command and has a really good grasp on it before moving onto the next. I need her commands to be “solid” when I start teaching her guide work. Over the weekend I’m thinking about teaching her take clothes out of the dryer. I thought this would be fun for her, and that it’s easier to start with than teaching her to pick up something and bring it back to me. It’s in a smaller area and she is just the right height to reach inside of the dryer now. I’m trying to decide if I want to use “get” or “take” with her though. I taught Sophie with “get”, but I’m thinking I will use “fetch” with Keisha. It will also be a word that sounds a lot different than “give”. She will also learn to “find” things, but I think “find” and “fetch” also sound different enough to use and not confuse her. She love playing fetch and will bring her toys back to me, so it shouldn’t be too hard to teach her to do the same with other things.

It’s almost 3am and Julian will soon be calling me, so I guess I better go for now. I’ll write more about how Keisha is doing with the clothes and dryer later. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!