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!