November Update

It has been forever since the last blog….and yes, sorry, still no video. I’m ready to make it now…just no time. All I do is nursing school 🙂 

I saw Bass for the first time back in September. We were at the volunteer picnic, and it was embarrassing and awful. Basically, I sat in the corner and cried with him for 2 hours. Yikes. I thought him and his trainer were still in Pennsylvania. I wasn’t expecting to see him.  I didn’t prepare myself.  When I saw her pull up, she hadn’t even parked before I was at her car door with tears in my eyes. Bass was SOOO happy to see me. I got plenty of wiggles, kisses, and cuddles. Then he spent the rest of his time worrying about why mom was crying. 

The good news is I haven’t cried since then, and I see him almost weekly now! Caroline (his trainer) has been kind enough to let me go through his commands with him a few times, and work on new ones too. He is always SOO happy to work for me again. He has really improved. He is loading the washer and unloading the dryer close to independently. He is tugging open the big heavy door at the office, and HOLDING IT OPEN (*YESSS, I worked so hard on that*). He is learning to open doors that you push with his body, and doing pretty well with it. So proud of my puppy (even though he isn’t really a puppy anymore!)

On the weekends, sometimes I take one of the other dogs in training while their owners are out of town, etc. It has been a lot of fun, and it makes me feel better just to go somewhere with a dog again. I started going to service dog class again. If we are honest I mainly play and cuddle with Seabass, but I help the others with training too!

This past weekend I had Micah, a big brown doodle. Caroline was kind enough to invite me and Travis (along with Micah) to her house to visit and train with her and Seabass. It was his first time seeing Travis since July, and he was soo excited. He got wiggly all over like a puppy. We trained Micah on come off leash in her yard, and Seabass got to show his new trainer his really naughty side (which she had not seen yet). We went fishing, then Travis and I threw the frisbee back and forth. He still goes nuts. I am sure Caroline was so frustrated, but Travis and I were both laughing. It’s funny because we had been there, and done that. Needless to say, she still has work to do.

He had evaluations this past week, and when Caroline gave him commands he looked at her like she was speaking another language. Such a darn doodle. When I talked to Caroline on the phone about it, I talked to Seabass on speaker phone. First I talked nice to him, then I told him to straighten up. We will see if it worked. 

How cute is this video?

Thoughts and Update

I was right. Giving up Sebastian is probably the hardest thing I have done my whole life. I’m two and a half weeks out and I still feel very empty. I’m not even sure that is the right word. Empty? Lonely? I don’t know, but it’s the worst feeling. I’m going with empty. It was an adjustment when I got him, to take a dog everywhere. Now I am having to adjust back to “normal.” The most awkward thing is that I do not know what to do with my hands when I am walking. I am SO used to having his leash in my hand, and that has probably been the strangest feeling…no leash. I also have caught myself giving commands to a dog that is not there, like a crazy person. Especially when I drop something…Bass picked up everything for me.

Other than first day without him , I have actually done really well. I re-arranged my room, and I think that helped take away some of the emptiness.  I still have an occasional cry, but I’ve surprised myself that I have held my composure as well as I have in certain situations. The thought that has kept me going: Yea, it sucks to not have Sebastian. But, you know what would suck more? How about being told you will never walk again, or loosing an arm, or a leg? I cannot imagine the emotions that come with that. Keeping his purpose in mind makes me feel better.

To answer a lot of questions I have gotten, no I have not seen him since I gave him up. But I have gotten updates! One of the dogs in the Wilmington program was dropped from the program , so her trainer, Caroline, took Sebastian after Pat had him for about a week. She called yesterday and had a few questions and a quick update. He is loving playing with her Brittany, and even gets to go on bike rides with her. She has a front load dryer, which we have never worked on before, and he is learning to retrieve clothes from there. I can see him whenever I go to classes to volunteer, but I’m not sure I can handle that yet.

I have video from our last day. I have not edited it yet. Yet another thing I cannot handle yet. Blogging is a big step.

I will post updates as I get them! (and a video when I get around to it)

Today’s the Day!

As all my facebook friends know, we had ANOTHER change of plans. Instead of Bass going to Charleston, he is staying here and Pat will be training him. For those of you who do not know who Pat is, she is the office manager and wife of Canines for Service president and CEO, Rick. He may be transferred to Canines for Veterans later, but they had unexpected releases and so forth, so he has no trainer there now. Until then, he is going to Pat….tonight.

It was mentioned a few months ago that Pat may end up taking him, and I was really hoping for it. She is like Sebastian’s other mom, and he loves her, and she knows his antics well. I will also get to see him plenty, which is excellent.

So today we are just getting ready. I am de-dogging my apartment. Packing all of Sebastian’s things up. Grooming Sebastian. Playing with Sebastian. Loving Sebastian. I would like to make a final training video, but no promises.

We will go to class tonight, as always, and I will leave him there. Its going to suck, I’ll probably cry most of the class and the whole drive home. I’ve held up pretty well the past few days, better than I thought I would. But send all of your strong vibes my way tonight, because that is what I will need. It is going to be a huge adjustment for me, just as it was when I first got him. He is ALWAYS beside me, and I can probably count on my fingers and toes the times I have been to the bathroom without the dog since I have had him. He is always there. Him not being here is going to be weird to say the least.

The past few days we have been petsitting for Gator, who is one of our therapy dogs. Bass and Gator are the same age, and played constantly. They had a blast. It was a good way to spend our last few days.

Whats up boys?!

Bass wasn’t too sure about actually swimming in the pool at first. It took some convincing.

Hello handsome!

Swimming!

If he were fat and more white he would look like a polar bear

More frisbee sharing.

 

 

 

11 more days….

I have 11 more days with Sebastian. On the 25th Travis and I are heading down to Charleston. On the 26th we are attending ceremonies in which two veterans are officially being presented with their service dogs. The 27th we leave-Sebastianless. He is transferring from the Canines for Service program into the Canines for Veterans program. This means instead of going to another trainer here he will finish his training with a military prisoner in Charleston and be placed with a veteran. We are doing this because we do not have another advanced trainer for him to go to here.

I am both sad and happy about it. I was looking forward to being able to see him frequently, at classes and such. The thought was keeping me a little more sane. That will not be the case now. I will likely see him at his final placement and that will be it. That really stinks. I am happy though. He will finish training much quicker in the brig. My guess is sometime in the fall he will be ready for placement. This isn’t because of any lack of skill in our trainers here in Wilmington, but because the trainers/prisoners do nothing but train the dogs. It truly is their life. My favorite part is that he will be placed with a disabled veteran of the Iraq/Afghanistan war. That is what is keeping me from a complete and total meltdown. Many of the wounded veterans have PTSD as well, and I know Sebastian could really help someone through that. He really has a good sense of people’s emotions, and is always ready to cuddle or just sit with his head in your lap.

People have started saying goodbyes to Sebastian. It is going better than I thought. I always thought when this started happening I would loose my composure every time, but so far I only lost it when my parents said goodbye to him this past weekend. We all just sat and cried for a few minutes. It was good for us. Sebastian didn’t quite understand, but he did worry about us (especially me.) He is such a good boy.

I keep trying to emotionally prepare myself for the moment when I have to turn my back and walk away, but I do not think any amount of mental preparation will help me keep my composure. There will be tears, and lots of them. I cry every time I start to think about it. It will be an emotional three days.

Emotions are confusing now. I am really excited and sad at the same time. He is getting so close to the point we have been working for almost two years to get him to. It has been a lot of work and I am SO proud of him. He was the problem dog, ready to be dropped from the program, and in a little over a year he is the superstar he is today. Other than all the training from me, it took a lot of heart from him too. He WANTS to help and be a service dog. I am also really excited about him being placed with a veteran. It is an honor for me to get to train a dog for someone who gave so much for their country.  The sadness is because I will miss Sebastian. That’s it. Everything else is exciting. I feel selfish for letting the sadness win over the excited and crying sometimes, but I can always bring myself back to excited.

Our last two weeks will be spent doing our favorite things. For training, we are working on him pushing doors open with his body and putting things in baskets (putting away toys and throwing away trash). We have been playing a lot, both with toys and just playing. We have been cuddling a lot…the dog is so darn cuddly! We are both enjoying our runs and bike rides, I love the clarity it brings me, and Bass just loves to run around. Our last two weeks are our best yet!

I will make a training video one of these days. I promise.

Catch-up

I’ve gotten pretty far behind on writing the blog….its been a long time since the last post. I had a summer semester. Sebastian was excellent in class (of course). He goes running and biking with me now. It’s pretty fun to have a buddy. He is FINALLY opening the door and HOLDING it open (with a rope). We are currently working on him opening the door using his body instead of a rope (for push doors). We went to Michigan for 2 weeks on vacation.

We stopped in Indiana on our way to Michigan to visit Travis’ aunt. Bass made friends with an adorable papillon mix.  He made his first trip to a hospital and was a STAR! We were visiting Travis’ uncle, and Seabass knew he wasn’t feeling well and was so sweet. He was also calm with some sort of drill with sirens and blinking lights in the hospital. Definitely on his A+ game.

We had a blast in Michigan. Bass discovered he LOVES to swim now. He will fetch a stick as far as you can throw it, and if you are swimming he wants to be right there with you.

May I add that Michigan is a SUPER service dog friendly state. I did not have a seconds issue. I think I was only asked to clarify if he was a dog in training one time, and that was when there was another training dog in the restaurant. We ended up sitting next to them because the place was packed. It was a 5 month old black lab leader dog puppy on his first trip to a restaurant.  He barked at Sebastian and carried on like puppies (and usually Sebastian) do. However, Bass settled under the table and completely ignored him…I was so proud. But back to the point, Michigan is beyond service dog friendly, other than one clarification he was never even acknowledged by anyone in public.

When we left driving fast made Sebastian nervous. Go over 60 and he started whining and shaking in the back seat. By the time we made it to Kentucky he was sleeping soundly, without worries. The trip was good for him to get over that.

When in Michigan, I talked to a trainer at Canines for Service to catch up on his training since we had been gone and what we missed in class. We are also discussing a date to give him up. It will be in the next few weeks. Still don’t know where he is going yet, just that he is going. It kinda hit me….I’ve known it’s coming, just didn’t realize “oh yea….its in a week or two.” I was sad and I cried.

On the way home, when we were in W. Virginia my mom called me to tell me my dog died at home. I was sad and I cried a lot more. She was fine and healthy and only 9 years old and simply didn’t wake up from a nap. It’s kind of a bummer to loose 2 of “my” dogs in such short time from each other. I know Sebastian isn’t really my dog…but he has been for the past year  a CONSTANT companion.  However, I think Aja actually dying will make it easier to give up Sebastian. He isn’t dying. I will still be able to see him. He is going to make someone else SOO happy. It just kind of put things into perspective.

Here is a slideshow of our trip to Michigan (but mostly our trip to the UP)!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

Fish, Wild Horses, and a Big Boy Harness!

I was hoping when summer came about I would be a bit more “free.” I knew I would be working and taking classes, but I also pictured more free time. NOT! Taking a semester’s worth of Spanish in one month is more work than expected. Oh well. We are making it work.

Friday Travis and I escaped for a day trip to Southern Outer Banks. It was a fantastic trip…we had no agenda….just one day out doing whatever looked fun. We went to the Pine Knoll Aquarium. Seabass loves to watch the fish, sharks, and his very favorite were the river otters. Of course, since it was a weekday, the place was flooded with kids on field trips. Somehow I remember not being able to run free and be out of control on field trips…but these kids were running around and screaming. To say the least, my dog was better behaved.

When I first got Sebastian he barked at all statues like this. He didn’t give this a second thought!

Watching sharks, sea turtles, and tuna while getting a face rub. Life is good.

We came across a floating bridge. That’s a new one. When you step water squishes up. Bass, of course, handled it like a pro.

On the nature trail…escaping the screaming children. He’s pretty happy about it.

We then made our way to Beaufort. Had a fantastic lunch. We saw dolphins on the inter-coastal from our table. We then took a ferry to Shackleford Banks. We found some of the Spanish Mustangs that roam the island. The weren’t really “wild.” You can walk right up to them…probably touch them if you wanted. We didn’t…because they are wild horses. They didn’t even mind Sebastian. We saw more dolphins on the boat ride back.

On the boat. This boat isn’t as fun….Seabass had to be a working dog.

Oh hi there!

Not getting to close….she had a baby 🙂

Well…My skirt blew up and my jacket off when the picture snapped. Oh well….us and an old horse we came across.

Without zoom. You can get so close to these guys without them blinking an eye.

Monday Sebastian got his big boy bracing harness. It is not fitted for him (Mr. Scrawny is too small for the smallest harness on the smallest size.) It definitely does not fit me and Sebastian together…I have to bend over a bit to grab the handle. When I first put it on he refused to move. Then when moving if I touched the harness he would freeze. He has been wearing it for the past two days, and all is well now. He still takes convincing to use the bathroom with it on….but he will….eventually.

Training wise Mr. Man is coming along. He now turns on and off a normal light switch on the wall. He is loading the washer, and retrieving a bottle of water from the fridge with limited guidance. Even skateboards are coming along. With his harness on he just stares and maybe whines. No pulling, barking, or screaming. The harness really calms him.

Looking like a legit working service dog 🙂

Hi cute face!

I plan on making a video soon. One day. One day.

Mother’s Day Trip Home

We are home for a mother’s day visit. Unlike last summer, I am staying in Wilmington, taking classes towards finishing my spanish minor, and I have a job at Carolina Canines for Service. We are expanding our therapy dog program to more locations, which calls for need for new instructors and evaluators.  My job is (in short) to write an instructor/evaluator manual, and curriculum for a 3 day workshop on becoming a therapy instructor. At the end of the summer we will be running the first workshop! It is a fantastic job for me, and I am so excited to start working on Monday.

Back to where we are now, home. Today has been busy (like any other trip home). Breakfast, getting my car fixed from the trailer hitch I hit on 40 (which cost me 2 hours and 2 new tires), shopping with dad, and shopping with mom. We also went to a self service dog wash my friend Elizabeth works at, called Dirty Dogs. If you are in the Wake Forest area… definitely check it out. Super convenient, easy, and clean.

The set up. Love it!

“Mom….what are you about to do to me?”

“Eww, gross, water….get it off!”

He is such a wet rat

Sebastian’s cologne. Other options included “Arfmani” and “Tommy Holedigger”.

With ear muff on getting ready for first blow dryer experience. He handled it very well.

Post bath with his sailboat cookie for being such a good boy!

Clean, fluffy dog opening the door at the mall.

A double whammy pic. Me AND Sebastian, and he is working!

Giving love to grandma for mothers day.

 

 

 

Why Did No One Tell Me About Zak George!?!

I will be the first to admit I am a dog training snob. A  lot of dog trainers are. We have our way, we like our way, and no one else’s way is quite as awesome. Time and time again normal people (the ones who don’t eat, breathe, and sleep dogs) call me (and other trainers as well) the dog whisperer. Nope. Wrong. Not even close. I will save you from my rant about why I do  not like Caesar Milan, and just tell you that I don’t.

So for me to come across someone on youtube ( and apparently BBC) that I have liked everything that has come out of his mouth so far….that’s impressive. I have a paper to write today, so I have not been able to glue myself you his channel like I wish I could, but the 3 or 4 videos I watched were awesome. My favorite (and why I am blogging on Sebastian’s blog) is about being emotional with your dog training, and less focused on the science aspect. Yes, there is a science to dog training, just like there is a science to how people learn. However, it is more important to focus on the emotion of dog training during your sessions. I think that if you focus on the emotion, the science part comes naturally. For example, if your dog does something right and you are focusing on emotion…you will be really excited; treat, praise, reward, and all that jazz…and at the right time too. When focused on the science, you have your timing perfect and mark the correct behavior and usually just give a treat. I am guilty of both. With my personal agility dogs, my sessions have way more emotion than those with Sebastian. I think it is because agility is just so darn exciting, for me and my dogs…as opposed to repeating heel, front, and sides. Sebastian has marker words, and I occasionally use a clicker when I am teaching a new behavior.

This is why I am talking about this on Sebastian’s blog. In service dog training, we do a lot of repeating behaviors, and it is so easy to just go through the motions. I fall in this trap all the time. The first time he bought me something, I was excited. We had a party and it was great. But now, it is just like….oh good dog, have a treat. Same with the first time he turned on the light, or anything other “firsts.” Why can’t this emotion of happiness and excitement last? It is freaking awesome that Sebastian can turn on a light, get water from the fridge, and carry grocery bags; and I think he should know it!

So…..my goal for the duration of my time with Sebastian is to train with more emotion, let the science just come, and enjoy him!

Here is the video I love from Zak George… I also encourage you to watch other videos….I know I will after I finish this darn paper.

The many hairstyles of Sebastian: the professor…all he is missing is glasses

“the beiber”

The Alfalfa

The mohawk

and again….

“Anyone wanna buy me a new friz?”

OH BOY Travis came to see me!

Travis….what are you doing to me?

He thinks he is cool with the glasses….look at that face!

“throwing gang signs” They are so tough!

To clarify….Sebastian is NOT allowed on the furniture. He was picked up by Travis, on his back, and only there for the duration of pictures (I mean really….gang signs…how cute!) This is an EXTREMELY rare occurrence. It will be the final decision of his “person” if he will be allowed on furniture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

365 Days of Seabass

Today marks one year with Sebastian, and what a year it has been!

The first 3 months were the worst. It is hard to go everywhere with a dog that doesn’t behave well and you are not bonded to. Our first outing together was to Target, and he pooped on the floor. I could have died, right then and there. Skateboards were unbearable. He barely knew sit or down. The only thing he had going for him was that he was cute (and sweet). It was like I became a parent overnight for a kid I could never get a babysitter for. It took a lot of adjusting.

I did not start to enjoy Sebastian until the end of the summer. It was work to take him somewhere (everywhere), then one day everything just started coming together. He listened and was more my sidekick than a muppet I dragged around. I finally trusted that we could go somewhere and 99% of the time he was not going to make a fool of me or him.

Fall semester we got a lot of attention. I only had him on campus for about 3 weeks before summer break, so a lot of people did not even know about him. Fall semester he started going with me everywhere every time. Instead of being asked why I had a dog, people were now asking why I didn’t have a dog on the rare occasion he was not with me. We had interviews with newspaper, school news, and even students papers and projects. Until this point we had basically been training glorified basic obedience. He has the strongest stay and leave it of almost any dog I have ever seen because of the months we spent on them.

Spring semester has been a lot more calm. Everyone is really used to him now and be basically just blends in. A guy in one of my classes calls him ” my own personal walking rug.” It’s pretty accurate. 🙂 We are now doing awesome and useful commands. He is turning on the real light on the wall now no problem. Helping me load my laundry, but no quite doing it himself (yet!). He opens every door with a button on campus and LOVES it. He carries my light groceries out of stores and to our destination, prancing all the way.

Wednesday we were honored at a banquet as a nominee for New Hanover County Volunteer of the Year. It was just amazing to get to be there with so many selfless and amazing people. The winner, a Junior in high school, runs a boutique that provides nice, stylish clothes to girls with low income…free of charge. She is even branching out to children and mothers. WOW! I plan on donating my two prom dresses. Better yet, her and her family raised a service dog that is about to be placed in the next few weeks, Esther. Here is her page on facebook.

Pictures from the Banquet:

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

All in all, it has been an amazing year. I feel like I have accomplished a lot with Sebastian, and that is a good feeling.

 

…And There Was Light!

It amazes me how quick Sebastian picked up “touch light.” I think it has to do with him liking to rub his face on anything and everything, but once we got our special light from Travis, it really took off.

Here is a very short session we did today. I have been doing a lot of very short sessions because I have been so busy this week, and it is really easy to just sit for for a minute or two and do  just a few things. Almost all of the work on turning on the light has been short sessions like this…and I think it has worked really well. This may be a new trend for our training! The video is basically unedited, but I did have to upload to youtube to put on the blog…oh well.

After one more solid session like this I would like to start moving up the wall, to a real light switch.

The Azalea Festival Parade is tomorrow morning. We will be walking in that with many other service dogs in training and therapy dogs. After the parade, Seabass, Travis, and I will be heading home (again!). It is Alan’s second birthday party. I think I am leaving Sebastian at home for the party. It is at a place kind of like Chuck e Cheese (you know…screaming toddlers running around). With Sebastian’s history of being uncomfortable with kids, I do not think taking him there would be setting him up for success. We have been working with kids, and he has been comfortable with every kid we have seen since Christmas, but…..I would hate to take ten steps backwards.