SSD Winston

May he rest in peace now.

2008-03-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, February 28th, 2008 around 9:00 pm SSD Winston "Speaker Of The House" was put to rest.

He was battling FCE for a little over a month now. He was responding well to IV prednisone and each time came out of the paralysis quickly. His last week with me he was hospitalized Sunday and although he pulled through he struggled with his balance and seemed a little bit lethargic. By Thursday he seemed to be doing great, and we had an incredible day. We spent the morning at a doctors appointment of mine, where he laid quietly across the room while I spoke to the doctor. All of the nurses and doctors that day mentioned how calm and under control he was. We went from there to run a few errands. We went to Wal-Mart where shopping was the most annoying thing possible, and after three employee's told me to move (out of their way!) my last straw was an employee bending down and calling him to pet him. He had his classic "Uhm, MOM!? Don't you see this woman!?" So, we put everything back, and left for Target! Haha. He played his silly "I can't pee anywhere new" games, until we got to Target, where he pulled to get to his grassy patch! We had so much fun shopping and being silly. Winston was such an angel the entire day. He just seemed to know exactly what to do, and when. While shopping we (his aunt Laura and I) decided that Winston deserved a new toy! We found an incredible plush olive toy
, and a hilarious dog perignon! (only green). Laura and I wanted him to pick, so we dropped them on the ground and I told him "okay!" so that he could pick. He was such a goof, pawed one, and picked up the other! We decided that he definitely wanted the Dog Perignon.

When we got home he was just as delighted to carry his bottle around. He had a nice evening but by dinner time, I knew we were headed back to the vet. It started when I asked him to retrieve the remote for me. Usually, he jumps to do this because it is easily reached and well, he is a labrador! When I gave him the cue, he sighed and walked to his bed where he laid down. He was slowly losing his balance, and acting more and more lethargic. We were at the vet's emergency room by 7pm. By the time we got there, I knew the symptoms differed a little. He was drooling much more and his paralysis was spread throughout his body. Our incredible vet immediately began taking care of him, and allowed me to go back to the procedure room to say goodbye before leaving him. Laura had left to meet us at the vet as soon as she heard the news, and we decided to grab a bite to eat since we thought he was settled in with the vet.

Shortly after we received our drinks, I got a phone call. I tried my best to listen and peel away any sign of hope from the words that were spilling out of the vet's mouth. He was anemic, severely. His CBC was terrible. He had done emergency x-rays, and found a tumor on his spleen. I just kept listening trying to hear hope somewhere in the conversation. By that time, Kara (my coworker) had arrived. She began making calls, and within a few minutes I had Dr. Fierer on the phone. I went through the events and knew when he was silent there was nothing left to do. Winston was too weak to make it through a blood transfusion and his tumor had an 85% of being cancer. Atop of the devastating FCE, Hypo active Thyroid, and IBD, it was just unfair to put him through more. I knew what had to be done.

Winston had us all with him. His grandma, Megan, Laura, Kara and I. I held his paw and talked to him and told him how incredible he was until he could simply not stay awake any longer. It was the hardest choice i've ever made, but he was telling me loud and clear that he was ready.

I am not sure how to end this entry, other than saying that Winston was simply the most charming and joyous dog. He was loyal, and loved being obedient. He had a great sense of humor, but was proud and very classy. He took his job as seriously as a Marine and he will never be forgotten.

May he spend all of his days swimming and lounging in warm sun. May he never forget that he saved my life in so many ways.

I love you, Winston.

June 13th, 1999 - February 28th, 2008.

Events from the summer!

2007-08-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

Winston and SSD Ross accompanied Christina and I to a very small local "Dog Day"! It was nice but too hot to stay more than 25 minutes or so. Just long enough for a good shot!

This is a shot while waiting for clients to arrive at SSD's June Team Training!

The Keeper Of All Good Dogs (costco, mid June) SSD Celia, SSD Pike, and Winston

Sit / Stay practice at the SSD Kennel in late June!

One of my favorite pictures ever!! Getting out of the car before teaching my first Puppy Class!!

June 30th demo at Royer Pharmacy! SSD Burke w/ my mom Gail, SSD Lucas w/ my friend Jordan, SSD Winston w/ me and SSD Rossi with our wonderful new Puppy Raisers The Smiths!

Last but certainly not least, SSD Winston comforting our newest puppy in training, SSD Bryce!

Update: Dietary Options

2007-08-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Winston has been eating Solid Gold Holistique Blendz for three months now and had great results! He has no signs or symptoms of his IBD!

Watchin' Out

2007-05-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Winston, Liberty and Ross keep an eye on things...

Patient Recognition Dinner

2007-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Last evening, Winston and I attended the Patient Recognition Dinner at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center to celebrate a wonderful patient/med student program coming to an end! We were delighted to spend the evening not only with our two assigned first year medical students but also SSD TJ and Mary Alice! Dinner was fantastic, as was the weather! Here is a wonderful shot of some of us and of course, Winston!

Dietary Options

2007-04-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Winston has been eating Science Diet Prescription i/d for about 10 months now. His vet proclaims that it is the only option because of his IBD (a general term that refers to inflammation of the colon and rectum found in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.) As most of you know, dog food can range from disgusting to wonderful. (kibbles and bits to raw instinct) I had a feeling the food was not that great, simply because of the ingredients but after discussing this with the SSD staff, we knew we had to find out.
Unfortunately, when we graded Winston's dog food (I will post the test in a later entry) it scored a 53%. This is outragious and completely unacceptable especially when the food costs $60 for a 40lb bag! I had originally decided to take the advice of Head Trainer Cindy Williams and started the pursuit of seeing a holistic vet.
I chose to start out with Kutztown Animal Hospital. After speaking with the manager yesterday, I was incredibly disappointed. The manager was not only rude to me but also the staff of SSD. She argued that Winston was a "real" "working" service dog and insisted on checking with her "friends" to see if SSD was "reputable". She did not thank me for any information I provider her with, nor the phone number or web address. She promptly called SSD to ask them to find another holistic vet for me to see. WHAT?
So I began emailing brands that offered holistic foods to ask their opinnion. To my surprise I got the most delightful email from Solid Gold today. They knew exactly what blend of products to offer Winston as an alternative to i/d! And best of all, they are HEALTHY well balanced options! I am incridibly excited.

Clicker Expo

2007-03-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Winston and I spent the weekend (well, thursday - monday) in Cleveland, Ohio at the Clicker Expo. Not only was it incredibly education and innovative but it was simply an all around great time. I learned a lot but the two primary topics were modifier cues and and clicking to calm aggression or anxiety even. I also need to start keeping a much more detailed and structured training journal.
Winston and I were lucky enough to have met wonderful trainers from Service Dogs Of Virgina and Paws With A Cause.
Unfortunately I was too captivated with the experience itself to take any pictures. This may be the first time ever that I haven't even gotten my camera out. Thanks to a ton of our SSD clan I do have at least one photograph. Apparently, there was a wonderful wooded area for the dogs and I was lucky enough to have a few people volunteer to take Winston along down. What I really love about this photograph though is how many emotions Winston is conveying through his body. I've always said he wasn't that into water, but here you can actually see it!

Words of Wisdom!

2007-03-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

"I hope that when a tornado rips the roof off of my aqarium my whales look up and say, 'Huh, look at what those trainers are doing today!'" - Ken Ramirez

The graying of age...

2007-03-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

Small Dog's Galore!

2007-03-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

Winston is not too pleased about our new house guest, Ernee. He is a young Jack Russell Terrier and so far Winston has not taken a liking to him yet. We also had the wonderful company of Stella, an 8 month old min Dachshund! Winston definitely favors her ;) As does Liberty and SSD Ross. Winston does NOT share his bed, ever. This is a once in a lifetime sight!

Fun at Molly's

2007-03-03T06:43:00.000-08:00

Winston loves visiting his good friend TDI Molly because she has WONDERFUL toys and best of all a CRATE. Nothing is better than a crate to Winnie. Seriously, he has an obsession with them. Looks like Molly isn't too pleased with her Uncle Winston sharing her space though...

Vday!

2007-02-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

Winston and I went to the Lancaster Arts Hotel for Valentines Day with a few friends. All of the staff welcomed and adored Winston.

Fun, fun fun!

2007-01-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

Waiting for the ambulance to get here because my respiratory infection has taken a bit of a rough turn. Hopefully tomorrow someone will be able to bring Winston in for me. I can't use him in the ambulance and until I know what medications i'll be on I want him safe and sound. He got some Bach's Rescue Remedy w/ his breakfast because he hated me leaving last time.

Cues, Cues everywhere!

2007-01-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

Winston has been very bored, and i'm afraid it is going to continue for quite a bit longer. First it was a lot of Paws Abilities work, and now it seems as though i've caught one heck of a respiratory infection. No outings for me means no outings for the Stone. We have however been working more and more on "trash!" which is incredibly exciting. I was having a lot of difficulty but thankfully the head trainer at SSD broke it down into smaller steps to try and vuala! Winston suddenly began catching on. My goal of a new cue each season is coming along quite well!

Over the summer Winston learned "elbow" - the repositional cue for him to push my elbow back onto my wheelchair
Over the fall Winston learned "hug" - the cue for Winston to come up onto my footplates and rest his head on my shoulder

I've also been spending quite a bit of time gathering all of Winston's photographs. I want to finally put together the absolutely amazing scrapbook that our good friends Sam and CPL Ivy started for us!

We'll wrap up with a photo of Winston that although it isn't the best, it show's his wonderful winter collar that I purchased for him at Target!

OH! Welcome SSD's newest litter of pups! Sadie Mae delivered 7 pups on January 25th! Go to the Paws Abilities Blog to view pictures!

Fun fun with no pain!

2007-01-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Winston and I are enjoying his healthy lifestyle! Lots of new training and fun walks. He and I just stayed in Philly with our good friends Christina and SSD Ross.

We're going to try to post once a week for the new year!

Update (wk 3 + pics!)

2006-10-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well Winston is doing great physically. He seems to be in no pain what so ever and has tolerated his 7 minute daily walks like a champ. I have finally gotten my camera back from Canon so here is his nearly 100% healed incision.

For those of you sicko's that would like to see a more detailed photo, click here

Other than that we are simply kick started his training and trying to get him back into the working mode. (since it's been months)

This weekend we will be going on a DASAF retreat with our friends CPL Ivy and her partner Sam, CPL Lily and her partner Lizz, and of course the infamous SSD Ross and his partner Christina! It should be a great weekend!!!

Week 2 Post Opp Check Up!

2006-10-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

We have great news! Yesterday Winston saw his surgeon for the first time since his surgery. They took an extensive look at his gate walking, running, and doing steps. The doctor also observed how Winston balanced his wieght while standing still and did a few neurological tests with his back paws. All in all the vet told me yesterday that Winston has made a 100% recovery and that he is able to begin working again! We will avoid all heavy doors and walking long distances. Today we will start at home physical therapy which the vet and I decided I could handle on my own. He will walk a short distance and also walk a flight of stairs two times. Tomorrow we will increase the distance and the ammount of times that he walks the stairs. We will also use a ladder in my back yard (probably starting on Monday) to encourage Winston to pick his legs up extra high, strengthening more muscles in his body. I am looking for a body of water locally as well to take Winston swimming in.
We were at the kennel after his appointment and everyone was blown away at home wonderful Winston looks. Nancy noted that he has a spark in his eyes, while Yvonne couldn't get over how happy he is!
We discussed the issue of Winston working while he has an incision and large bald spot on his back. My initial reaction was that as long as he is given a clean bill of health and is up to working, it is fine. I brought it up to the trainers to make sure that is it not irresponsible of me as a partner. We all agreed that it is guranteed that people will make a very large deal out of it, but that it is not illegial or wrong of me to have him out. I am more than happy to handle all of the publics questions and settle their concerns.
Winston's first day back at work will be at a short conference Saturday. It will be a very relaxing atmosphere with very little walking involved.
Thanks again for all of the support! It means the world to us!

Update from the recovery room!

2006-10-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, has Winston made large steps in his recovery! The first twenty four hours were absolutely terrible. By the 2nd day though Winston was beginning to have a spark back in his eyes that I have not seen in years. I was given permission to administer his tramadol every 8hrs instead of the originally prescribed 12hrs. He also found much relief taking Bach's Rescue Remedy. His swelling has decreased significantly and he goes days without whimpering! We were given permission to let him out of his crate because his pain increased laying down. Followingn that decision Winston stood for 9 hours. I also took his cone off which helped him relax a great deal. All of this combined with the natural healing power of time and you have one happy Winston.

Honestly, I think this took him back to age 3 or 4. It seems to be a miracle!!!

A soothing voice.

2006-09-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

The hardest sound to hear and sight to see, is your partner in such pain. Although Winston's surgery went very well and just as they hoped it would, his incision is double the length and his pain is much higher than I expected. Since we arrived home he has not stopped crying, whimpering, and howling. I'm doing everything that I possibly can without breaking the Dr.'s orders and he only stops crying when he hears my voice or is being pet by someone. I spent the entire night falling asleep talking to him and then being woken up by his cries reminding me to continue talking. My mom slept half of the night with him so that I could sleep. I had nightmares on and off about his incision opening and finding blood everywhere. I cannot use words to describe how hard it is to see him like this.

As long as I keep talking to him, using his name and "good boy" he is quiet...

In the car!

2006-09-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well i got word around 3pm that winston was recovering great and that i could pick him up after 5! So im grabbing dinner after work and going straight to the hospital! I miss my baby! Ill update tonight when i get home. Thanks so much for all of the support!

The day before his surgery...

2006-09-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't help but spoil Winston today. Tomorrow at this time he'll be under and having his spine cut open. I've been pretty sick all week so it worked out to his advantage - mom is home with him. He's been curled up on his bed watching tv while I knit and retrieving the needle every time that it falls. I think we'll take a short walk in a little while and maybe do one nice grooming session too. I'm very nervous and very upset that my digital camera is broken because I WANT new pictures of him. Anyway, just updating to update. He'll have his last meal this afternoon and then water will be taken at midnight. Thanks for all of your support.

More Illness Discoveries

2006-09-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

The Bad News: It has been discovered through lumbar x-rays that Winston has severe spinal inflamation. He requires a surgery called a Dorsal Laminectomy in order to reduce this inflamation. He is scheduled to have the surgery done at Palmyra Animal Clinic on September 27th. The recovery is projected to be anywhere from 6 to 12 wks and he will have physical therapy starting in the 2nd week of recovery. The Dorsal Laminectomy has roughly a 65% success rate.

The Good News: There is a great chance that Winston, pending the success of the surgery, Winston might be able to go back to work! We have put my placement with a new dog on hold until we see how Winston's recovery goes. Hopefully Winston's IBD is directly related to the stress of his spinal inflamation.

Winnie is resting on his new Urban Sprawl.

Winston continues to eat Hill's Prescription Diet i/d along with Tagamet twice a day and Prednisone once every other day.

We'll try to update more often, thanks for being patient!

We've been tagged!

2006-08-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the old man and I have been tagged by our favorite dog guide teamand especially since this blog needs a little bit of an upper, we're going to play along!

Here's how the game works:
When you are tagged, you must list 5 weird things/habits about yourself. Then you tag 5 friends and list their names. The furries (or people) who get tagged need to write on their blogs about their 5 weird things/habits, as well as state the rules of the game clearly there too, then tag 5 more victims. Don't forget to leave your victim a comment that says "you're tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

5 Weird Things/Habits about SSD Winston:

1. In training I won the "Best Backer Upper" Award (for backing up until i'm blue in the face)
2. I have to find the absolute PERFECT spot to go "potty" even if that means not going for 24 hours!
3. I honor thy Father, Christ.
4. I'm more snuggly than you can imagine, but only with my plush toys.
5. I not only fall asleep with these plush toys in my mouth, but I try to bark at cars driving by, with the toys still in my mouth.

I don't have five other partners but i'll tag two! Rockwell and his foster mom have been tagged along with my good friend Sam and CPL Ivy.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

2006-08-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

After talking with the vet and the other trainers at SSD I've come to understand IBD much more. Winston will have reoccuring pain and discomfort but on the contrary he will have really good times. This most likely has been going on since his urinary track issues back in '02 and simply gone into remission until now. Winston's entire intestines are affected by the IBD. Pet Education has supplied me with the wonderful infromation about IBD that I encourage anyone that is interested to read, again the information is here.

The past few months have been incredibly difficult and trying for Winston and I. I think constantly about whether or not he should continue working and everyone continues to say "You'll know when it is time." and most of the days he looks at me like he just wants to sleep and play. I'm waiting for Cindy and Nancy to call back to have one last discussion about what to do before I decide.

All advice, thoughts, comments would be greatly appreciated right now.

Vomiting and polyp update

2006-08-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

Winston didn't get to finish his week of thorough journaling before we had a terrifying incident. He woke up 7/26 vomitting old foul blood. He was immediately rushed into the animal hospital at Palymra and admitted for an endoscope study as well as a series of other tests. Winston was discharged friday night on ID and two medications. He had moderate vomitting for 24hrs and then seemed to return to his normal (as of late) self.

As I was writing this the vet called. It seems as though he has finally been diagnosed!!

Winston has Inflammatory Bowel Disease

I will update after I google it :)

2006-07-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

7/24 Winston had a normal apetite and multiple potty breaks (8am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm, 7pm, 11pm) with fearful and anxious behavior half of the time.

7/25 I walked Winston a mile or so early (8am) before leaving him home for the day. He had multiple "potty" breaks because he was squating while walking. All were successful. While at work I discussed in great detail what has been happening with some of the trainers. It has been decided that it may be something in relation to the spine. Upon arriving home Winston was very excited. He seemed in distress at random times all night.

7/26 - will write later

Health/Behavior Journal

2006-07-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

22nd - Winston had a very normal day at home on friday. He "pottied" about 6 times outside and was acting comfortable all day. We increased his diet and hopefully that will help with his mysterious weight loss. No accidents indoors.

23rd - Yesterday Winston accompanied me on the 1hr drive to Ikea. Although there was no where he wanted to "potty" he had no accidents! He was responsive and well behaved for the duration of our day but his tail remained down. After another chance to "potty" without success we were ready to leave. We undressed and had some water before the long trip home. Once back at the house he had another drink but began acting strange. I walked out of the house, and off of the backyard, like I have been doing to "potty" him and he appeared fearful of the back yard. Ears back, head andtail down. I said okay and we went back inside for awhile where he slept HEAVILY. I finally woke him up about 4 hours later to try to potty again. Again he acted fearful and I turned around and came back in, not pushing the situation. Winston fell back asleep shortly thereafter. I offered one last chance to "potty" before I went to sleep at 11:30pm. He was incredibly hesitant but followed me out to the yard with his head and tail down, ears back. Immediately after urinating he RAN back up the yard, across the deck and into the house. When I cought up to him he was wagging his tail and normal. There were no pm accidents again!

early am - Winston reportedly had a normal am "potty". He had a good appetite and is resting beside me. Winston pottied hesitently again around 10am. We began working on him shutting a new door in my house, he seems to be training fine. He is resting again.

Health/Behavior Journal

2006-07-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

Early AM- Winston's first "potty" of the day was at 6:45am. He did both duties and came right back in to my room. My nurse reported that he seemed relaxed and normal. There was no straining to go to the bathroom. Winston was a little thrown off by my new shower (first time using it w/ him home) but after a few seconds he laid down on his bed across the room. He ate 3cups of Nutro for breakfast around 8:15am, and got another "potty" break which he defecated for the second time. He has been normal all morning.

First Day Home!

2006-07-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday around 2pm I received word from Palmyra that I could come to pick Winston up anytime between 5 and 7pm. Although they were unable to give me any word about how the tests went, I was nothing less than ecstatic to get my boy back! After a long day of errands we finally made it to the vets office. I think that the five minute wait to get him was the longest wait of my life. Dr. Clemens arrived with a shrug and look of confusion. The test results show that nothing is wrong with SSD Winston. Everything came back fine and that leads him to believe that it is behavioral. In saying that I will be going back to normalcy. Although Winston will be working full time again there are a few changes that we are going to make. Incase the urinating was by some chance a behavoiral act, he will be tethered to my bed for a week or so, as well as only pottied when I offer and not at his own discretion. I will also up his food again, brining his total to three cups plus treats. I will also make a point to journal his behavior daily. When the vet tech brought Winston back I was overwhelmed with the same feeling that I got when we met. He was so excited that he leaped straight onto my lap instead of his polite calm up onto my footplates. He continued to go back and forth between Laurel and I and wiggling his entire body. I gave him his new duck and he immediately settled and the best part was his wagging tail for the remainder of the evening. Winston isn't much of a tail wagger, so I love when he does.

7/19/06
Winston pottied when offered twice between 8pm and 11pm. He was relaxed and followed me from room to room. He was allowed free range during the night and followed the "nurse" command twice. He was reportedly a normal "Winston" from midnight - 8am. I will update my nurses on the new protocal tonight.

7/20/06
early am- Winston was eager to eat this am and finished his old amount of food in his normal amount of time. I will up his food tomorrow morning via his bowl and today through treats. He has slept on his bed and responded to commands normal all morning. I will offer him a potty break at 11am again. I would also like to try to get him dressed and out in public today. We will begin tethering tonight.
early pm- Winston pottied at 11am when I took him out. It was average amount, brighter yellow, no straining. While outside to potty at 11 I did a difficult "nurse". No one inside knew I was practicing which makes it much more authentic. He ran up the yard, across the deck and barked to get someones attention. He did not seem to mind running after urinating and there were no obvious stress signals. We took a walk (1/2 the distance we usually do) around our neighborhood. I offered him a potty before we left, he did not take it. Half way through the walk I noticed him showing signs of needing to potty so as soon as I got to a field I let him go. He went a small amount, less yellow, no straining. After arriving home he "spoke" to get attention so that my sister knew to let me in. He will not drink now that we are home though. He is panting and it was certainly warm out. He rests but follows me from room to room.
evening- Winston was incredibly excited to get. He worked as I expected after having a 2month break. He didn't "potty" at Barnes and Noble but we had no accident. When we got home I took him outside and he pottied before coming inside to get a large drink. He slept in my room with me and was normal during our dinner time. Around 6:30 we got ready again and went to the Pottery Works. He "pottied" outside before entering. He was very normal the entire evening. We had to wait outside for an hour in order to move a car that had my conversion van parked in and Winston was patient the whole time. We did some training for "Where's Laurel?". He seemed to not feel well once we got back to my house. He did potty but immediately afterwards his ears went back and he ran into the house. He found a toy and got onto the couch.
late pm- Winston spent the night beside my bed. His last potty was 11:30pm (he only urinated). He was calm and slept the entire night.

Another Night At Palmyra

2006-07-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Palmyra called to inform me that Winston had to stay at the clinic for another night of testing, with the possibility of two or three more nights. She told me that she was unable to give me much information about the results of the previously performed tests other than the doctor is concerned and needed to run more. Winston was schedule for two tests to be performed last night and this morning. First being a water deprivation test and second being an ATCH to test of Addison's disease as well as a disease that I had never heard of. They said Winston was resting comfortably (i'm sure they say that to everyone) but that he had a hard time when I left yesterday. I am trying so hard to stay busy and not think about everything. I'll call around 2 o'clock today.

I miss my old man...

Overnight studies at the Palmyra

2006-07-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

After a long weekend of lots of indoor potty accidents my anxiety for today's visit was very built up. Winston had lost another pound and I was ready to meet Dr. Clements. Luckily the wait was short and Dr. Clements was wasting no time in listening to my problems. After explaining the past 8wks to 12wks he immediately decided to begin a 24 hour segment of thorough tests. He is redoing all of their studies as well as running an EKG and an ultra sound. When I asked when he would like me to schedule the tests he told me that there was no time to lose and that he would be starting them right away. Leaving Winston was much harder than I expected it to be, but I know not only has Winston been there before, so has every other SSD. That's all for now, i'll update as soon as I hear from the vet.

Sick Boy (part 5)

2006-07-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well, Winston had his x-rays and appointment at SSD's vet scheduled for the end of next week when our plans changed drastically. This morning on our walk he was sniffing the ground obsessively. This is NOT like Winston even when he has to urinate badly. I stopped and told him to "Go Potty" so instinctively he squatted and I immediately noted straining. To no avail he went at most a tablespoon. His urine was very dark. I hoped he was just marking a spot in someone elses yard and attempted to carry on our walk. About 5 feet up the road he started signalling that he had to "Go Potty" again, so I offered him another chance in another yard. Once again he strained and only a few drops came out. The third time that this happened I called my local vet and turned towards home. They said they wanted to see him immediately. After calling them I called Palmyria, SSD's vet and they moved his appointment up to this monday night. My local vet did a chest and abdomen xray as well as cathetorized him to check for a blockage. Everything came back clear, but he still hasn't urinated. He is home and resting now. This is going to be the longest three days of my life...

Month Update

2006-07-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well in the past month Winston has been acting fine and has only had one accident. He has had a hard time because of all of the fireworks but luckily our friend Sam reccomended Rescue Remedy as a relaxent. It has been working wonderfully! Winston seems to be much more relaxed and calm but still able to work. My vet said this was an excellent option as well. Because Winston has been having accidents we do not go out in public very often. We will not go to hospitals, grocery stores, or anywhere that pottying isn't very close to the door. We did go out to lunch a few weeks ago which was a perfect photo oppurtunity.

Other than that this month we have been spending a lot of time outdoors.

We took a few trips down to a creek near my house.

We also spent a week at the MDA's Summer Camp in philly, PA with SSD Ross, CPL Dylan, and SSD Sequoia.

Sick Boy (part 4)

2006-06-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (6/4) wasn't a very good day for Winnie. We had a really great weekend with SSD Sarge (pictures to come) and decided to go visit SSD Owens for some play time like we do every few weeks. Winston is the mellow one out of the crowd and was acting like his usual self wondering around. About 4o'clock Winston had one of his shaking spells from a storm that was coming in. It didn't last more than a minute or so and he seemed to shake it off (literally) and, to my surprise became excessively playful. He took a toy and began running and trying to get Owen to play. I am running the behavior over and over in my head trying to pick out nervous signs and I can't find any. His tail was wagging but not excessively, he was throwing the toy up and catching it but not growling or shaking it. It seemed to be very normal play behavior. He within seconds for the first time since the day I got him, dropped the toy, and urinated. I was baffled. He has never done that. He is GREAT with telling me when he needs to go out, and he was offered a potty before we entered about 1hr before that. He did not go potty but wasn't interested. Laurel took him outside to potty after he stopped and he went again a LOT. He laid in the hall noticeably upset the rest of the afternoon. While cleaning up the urine we noticed traces of blood. This morning my vet simply asked for another urine sample, which i'm waiting to hear about.
Today Winston is very mellow and seems extra tired. His water intake and pottying have been normal. He's barked at cars like usual and has normal color in his gums. I am waiting to hear from the director of SSD about what she thinks.

Sick Boy (part III)

2006-06-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well the bloodwork came back fine leaving us with no answer as to what is going on with Winston. One other bit of the puzzle that has been added is that Winston lost about 4lbs in a little less than a month. Now this wouldn't concerned me had I not been giving him a little more than a quarter cups more food a day. The vet discussed many reasons weight loss could have occured and i'm pretty sure it is anxiety related. All things included, we're going to do another weigh in, in one month, as well as xrays. I've also decided to up his food a bit more. Other than that life's been busy but nothing new to report. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods, oh and everyone send positive thoughts Willow's way as it seems her and Winston are both not feeling so well these days!

Sick Boy (10 days later)

2006-05-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

The next am (5/16) Winston held half of his breakfast down and was eager to eat. He's been (temperment wise) fine since the 15th. On Monday (5/22/06) I took in Winston's "healthy" urine sample. Tuesday I got a call from the vet who seemed concerned. He was now requesting two more urine samples. These were to be the last potty before bed time and the first in the am. I brought both of those in yesterday (5/25) and after talking with my vet (who was questioning how often Winston had water available?) we have decided to do a series of bloodwork. He's pretty convinced that something is wrong with Winston's kidney's. He said they aren't breaking down the density of his urine properly. We're going to be scheduling that appointment today, and i'll be sure to keep you posted!

Sick Boy

2006-05-15T03:57:00.000-07:00

About two years ago Winston was "leaking" after urinating. His urine sample came back a little off, indicating an infection and he was treated successfully with antibiotics. This morning we had an interesting set of events.
Our morning routine has gotten really great, Winston knows to sit on his bed until he hears my seat belt click! That is his release to get excited about eating breakfast. He's allowed to prance and do his little happy dance then until his bowl is down. He has never missed this routine - in five years. If he is anywhere else in the house when he hears the click of my belt he RUNS to me. Like any other lab would anticipating breakfast. This AM he did neither. When I called him, he didn't come. I went looking for him to find him doing a "potty dance" by the door. Obviously let him out and waiting for him to come back. When he did so he was lethargic and not excited about breakfast whatsoever. He seemed to be breathing heavy but not panting. I called him to walk along with me into my room where I feed him and even after getting his bowl he hardly perked his ears. I decided to hold off and see what he would do if I left the room. He has never allowed me to forget to feed him. He'll drool and cry and dance when I walk near his bowl if he hasn't eaten. This morning he slept. I gave him about 40 minutes before I called my vet - who asked to see him asap. It was 1hr between the phone call and getting there - Winston alerted to go out 5 times and urinating 6. I got a sample simply because they "might" need it. He was remotely playful when he saw the cows in the field behind our house and ate one piece of dogfood as a reward for helping me. 15 minutes before we had to leave (about 5 after that treat) Winston started vomiting, so we got in the car and headed out. After his examination (temp fine, color fine, no abnormal masses, no abdominal pain) the vet checked his urine sample and found that again the levels were off. He gave me something in case Winston vomits again but sent us home for 24hrs. If he is still lethargic or urinating excessively tomorrow am they will run blood work for kidney and live problems. He said they are all very rare but something is causing his levels to be off. If Winston IS better in the am, the vet wants me to wait a few weeks until Winston is back to himself and bring in a healthy urine sample to compare to.

Sigh. He's resting now beside me...

Ruffwear

2006-04-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Winston and I spent time at Susquehanna Service Dog's latest transfer this past week. This group was very vocal about appreciating my input in relation to actually living with an SD. I have to say I was very pleased with Winnie's behavior! Cindy Williams our Training Coordinator and I discovered that we both want to do obedience with our dogs! We plan on getting together to start in a few weeks! She'll be doing it with her dog, SSD Oliver. Anyway, i'm very excited about that!!

I've gotten some new products that i've been meaning to update everyone on! About three weeks ago we received our first order from Ruffwear! They offer a discount to all IAADP service dog team members! Anyway, we got some basics such as the ever so tiny and handy dandy portable water bowl, called the Trail Runner, and the 25 cup food capacity tote called the Growler Cinch Top! Both are by far the best quality products that i've seen!

I'll finish this entry later - for now we're going shopping with the family! This will be SSD Torino's longest day out! Wish us luck!

Never Get Too Comfortable!!

2006-04-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, lets see. For years i've been incredibly strict with who does what with Winston, and when. The more people that are "in his life" so to speak the harder, theoretically, it is for him and I to have a solid bond. The line is fine on how much to regulate and the one thing I have always been caught up on is this: When Winston is told "nurse" it is because I need help, pretty quickly. 9 times out of 10 I am in pain and need repositioned. When the person comes in, the first thing I have them do is "treat Winston". Now, there is a Rubbermaid container that I store Winnies food in, everyone is told either a big hand full or a small hand full with verbal praise. This is probably done twice per nurse shift, so even new nurses get the idea quickly. Now, i've been torn because if I follow the rules strictly, I should, by all means, have the nurse bring the food over to me, and then I would give it to him myself. I'm not going to lie, it's laziness that causes me to have my nurses treat him while i'm asleep/in bed. Anyway, I paid for it. I've got this nurse that has continually made comments about how he looks too thin and has been pushy and said things like "Are you sure that you fed him this morning?" Yes, I'm positive that my Labrador would never let me forget to feed him. So, Monday morning I have him "nurse" and when she comes in, I remind her to "treat Winston". Now, this is probably her, i'd say 6th or 7th shift so i'm pretty confident that she knew what to do. She didn't understand what I said and I had to repeat myself a few times. I ended up saying "I need you to give Winston a few pieces of dog food as a reward for getting you." The next thing I know...[Disclaimer: If you are anything like me in a training SD/handler aspect you may want to brace yourself, or sit down. I hear his measuring cup scoop out food and before I could say anything, she DUMPS IT INTO HIS BOWL AND WINSTON STARTS EATING!!!! I pulled my covers down and closed my eyes and said "Please tell me you did NOT just feed him!!!!!!!!!" She continued to rant that I said to do it. Well, whatever, it happened, I put it behind me and continued on. WRONG IDEA. I should have went over board in attention to him. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, hoping it wouldn't matter. Lets see, since then Winston has refused his leave its (small things, and big - went upstairs and ate the cat food!!) Broken a ton of stays (which were going so well!) and opted to watch whoever else is around when I give him basic commands before follows through. So, today, we've got some great treats and we'll be spending lots of time together going "back to the basics".

Lesson Learned - You can never be too thorough or strict with people and your SD.

Therepy Dog Winston <3

2006-03-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

My family is amist some very trying times right now, and in attempt to help my aunt out we offered for their youngest, Dani, to stay the weekend with us. She spent the weekend playing with all of the dogs and hanging out. I was delighted to see how Winston took to the situation. Like i've said before he isn't a very social or overly friendly dog. He is sort of a loner and likes his space. Well, all of that went right out the window this weekend. He was glued to Dani. He followed her EVERYWHERE. Had to sleep at her feet, or on top of her.

He still worked for me and made a point to "check on" me, but it was very obvious to me that his priority this weekend was Dani. The first night he slept half way between us, at the bottom of the stairs that led to her room. The next day, he was laying on the couch with her when a friend of my mom's boyfriends came inside. Winston about had a cow. This man has been around for two years at least once a week. Winston leaped off of the couch barking at him. Obviously I ended the behavior and put him in a "down/stay" back on the couch. It didn't alarm me until I noticed that the ENTIRE night Winston insisted on following this man's EVERY LAST MOVE. Even if it was just with his eyes, he didn't let him out of his sight. He promptly laid on top of Dani and held her down.

I've had Winston for four years now (almost five) and I have never seen him bond with someone like this. It is truly amazing. Dani is going through a lot right now and although she isn't showing it to us, I think Winston can sense the toll it is taking on her.

Classic Look From Winston

2006-03-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

Winston often appears as if he is thinking that he is better than this. This what? Oh take your pick. This dog, this puppy, this common task, this location...the list goes on and on. I have finally captured that thought in a photo! I was trying to get him to "Watch Me!" for a cute picture outside, and he was more interested in watching the bus. He turned his head toward me and I swear he is such a snob!!

Proof!

Love always.

"Nurse!"

2006-03-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm suffering from a pretty bad respiratory infection that has caused me to lose my voice. This morning my mom and nurse were in the kitchen, and couldn't hear me calling for them. So, I sent Winston out to get them. Apparently they were not thinking because they kept saying "What?? What do you want Winston???" and then they opened the back door and told him to "Go out and go potty!!" Apparently Winston finally stood his ground and wouldn't go out. He usually does! He instead ran back into my bedside and put his head down. I gave him another, more excited "Nurse!!" and he ran back out into the kitchen to try again. My mom and nurses conversation continued as they made a comment about how he is being so weird. So for a second time Winston came back to my bedside, head down, and waited for what to do. This time when he ran back out there someone realized what was going on and came in! He is such a great dog. You'd think after this many years i'd stop realizing that over and over. I swear he just gets better and better though!

Demo's & Therapy Work

2006-03-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

Today Winston and I went to visit my old highschool. Aside from the fact that I had a wonderful time seeing all of my old teachers, the day turned out to be GREAT. Three classrooms wanted demo's! Two of them were IU-13 and Winston did wonderfully. At the end I undressed him and he was so wonderful with the kids. He even did a gentle "up" onto one of their laps and surprisingly enough STAYED while he was pet. All in all a great day for him. One thing that I was interested to see was that Winston didn't show any signs of remembering my HS. He did react to one teacher that I was close to, but other than that he showed no signs of remembering it. Oh - one more thing to note! At one point we found ourselves in the hallway during period switch and he was freaking EXCELLENT! It was so cramped he was walking behind me a bit, and he ignored everyone!! That's all for today!

Shedding MANIA & Paws Abilities '06

2006-03-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

I took advantage of the 70 degree weather today and brushed Winston for awhile. I can't believe how much he's shedding. Oh, and where in the WORLD did this dander come from? He's never had any before! I am thinking about starting him back up on some supliments.

I was so pleased w/ Winstons general behavior at Paws Abilities. He responded 99% of the time to my voice only! When Laura got a minute to come see him, he turned into his old happy silly puppy pants self. It was such a kodack moment, and guess who didn't bring her camera! He is honestly the perfect SD to me. After a few minutes of being allowed to socialize he stopped on his own and went back to maintaining perfect eye contact. He is such a great dog.

He has been a huge huge huge brat about me training the puppy. Instead of locking him in another room while I work w/ him, I've been cutting his breakfast in half and giving it to him in his Busy Buddy with some nice frozen peanut butter to hold it in longer.

New Foster Puppy!

2006-03-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to pick up SSD Torino our new puppy!

Winston is so funny with puppies. He gets whiney.

My mom and I are going to be keeping the puppies training and photos in his own blog. Anyway, time to go to the bus stop! (Winstons new favorite place!)

Interesting Point

2006-03-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Last night I was suffering with a terrible headache, and when it finally subsided, I got very hyper. Tammy and my mom and I started cracking jokes and laughing non stop. I took an ugly cat stuffed toy from the daycare and tried to get Winston to play. To my surprise, he went crazy with it. He started running around the house, from one couch to the other and waiting for me to tell him to "Go find Grandma!" at which point he would sprint across the house and leap on her. Tammy later said that in her year and a half of working here she has never seen him so "playfully out of control". I laughed and said if i'm in a crazy mood he seems to loosen up a bit. It was then that Tammy said something and made a connection that i've never made before. I am a pretty serious person. To some, I am incredibly serious. If you've ever met or been around Winston, he is exactly the same. Maybe he follows my moods more than i've ever noticed before.

Mister loves to work, and knows when play time is appropriate. Just like mom.

Winston a few weeks back, ignoring all of the toys around him to retrieve a glove for me.

Winter Blues = Lack of Updates

2006-03-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

No, no, no. We can't blame my laziness on the Winter. I will recap with a photo entry though!

Winston and I had some lovely friends stay for a few weeks over the holidays.

Winston (as some of you know) is not the most playful chap around town. He also is not always very fond of other dogs. I would go as far as to say that he generally "tolerates" having other dogs around. He's never been aggressive, but rather anti social.

That being said, Winston's closeness to Max Fisher, is quite the exciting happening.

Winston loves going to the bus stop for one of our daycare children. It got to the point this fall that he would pull ahead for most of our walk if I said "Where's Maddie??" He stands at such attention looking down the street, waiting for the bus. We went up a few weeks ago for the first time in months.

We went to Joni and Dave's with Christina and SSD Ross and eee, I was so proud of him. Dave wanted to get a photo of all three of the dogs, so he put them in a sit/stay.

Apparently he didn't release them because when I walked over about 10 minutes later, Winston was sitting there still and alert.

Not much else to write about. We've been going to Matt and SSD Owen's for poker. Winstons only mission is to get the larger than a lab stuffed dog and curl up on it. Haha, he wasn't so sure about their grandfather clock the first day, but that wasn't an issue after the first few kongs.

We're getting our new foster puppy next week! I'll definitely post pictures then! Until next time...

Dog Food Recall - Liver Failure!

2005-12-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

See the Diamond Pet Foods web site http://www.diamondpetfoods.com and CNN report http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12 22/dog.deaths/index.html?section=cnn_mostpopular for additional information.

Media Statement Diamond Pet Food

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2005

Media Contact:
Mark Brinkman, Diamond Pet Food
573/229-4203

Diamond Pet Food has discovered aflatoxin in a product manufactured at our facility in Gaston, South Carolina. Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring toxic chemical by-product from the growth of the fungus Aspergillus
flavus, on corn and other crops.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have notified our distributors and recommended they hold the sale of all Diamond Pet Food products formulated with corn that were produced out of our Gaston facility (see complete list below). Please note that products manufactured at our facilities in Meta, Missouri and Lathrop, California are not affected. The Gaston facility date codes are unique from other Diamond facility codes in that either the eleventh or twelfth character in the date code will be a capital "G" (in reference to Gaston). The range of date codes being reviewed are "Best By 01-March-07" through Best By "11 June-07". Diamond's quantitative analysis records substantiate that Diamond's corn shipments were definitively clear of aflatoxin after December 10. As such, "Best By 11-June-07" date codes or later are not affected by this notice.

States serviced by our Gaston facility include Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky (eastern), Main, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Vermont, and Virginia.

We are rapidly analyzing retained samples of all products produced in Gaston so we can isolate specific lot numbers impacted and provide this information to our distributors, retailers and customers as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, if your pet is showing any symptoms of illness, including sluggishness or lethargy combined with a reluctance to eat, yellowish tint to the eyes and/or gums, and severe or bloody diarrhea, please consult your veterinarian immediately.

Product quality and customer satisfaction are important to us. We pledg to keep you updated as new developments occur.

Gaston Facility Products Removed From Sale
Diamond Low Fat Dog Food
Diamond Hi-Energy Dog Food
Diamond Maintenance Dog Food
Diamond Performance Dog Food
Diamond Premium Adult Dog Food
Diamond Puppy Food
Diamond Maintenance Cat Food
Diamond Professional Cat Food
Country Value Puppy
Country Value Adult Dog
Country Value High Energy Dog
Country Value Adult Cat Food
Professional Chicken & Rice Senior Dog Food
Professional Reduced Fat Chicken & Rice Dog Food
Professional Adult Dog Food
Professional Large-Breed Puppy Food
Professional Puppy Food
Professional Reduced Fat Cat Food
Professional Adult Cat Food

Goodbye, SSD Bond

2005-12-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

SSD Bond went into formal training tonight.

He was ready, I, on the other hand, was not.

After crying for a few minutes, Winston and I decided to get some napkins. Mid retrieve, the UPS man showed up. Winston, likes to act as if the UPS man is his #1 enemy. Charging him, with napkins in his mouth, was by far, the most threatening move he could make. The UPS man takes a step back, only to look up and notice me, just recovering from sobbing, and now laughing. The poor man comes in with the most derranged look on his face, trying so hard to understand my verbal directions that are being confused with sniffles that are in desperate need of the tissues in Winston's mouth. Alas, the package is in the doorway, my napkins were distroyed and we just finished getting new.

Life will be rough without SSD Bond.

Holiday Related Safety!

2005-11-25T10:01:00.000-08:00

Dog Safety Tips For Christmas And The Holidays Brought to you by *Pup Life*

Dog Safety Tips For Christmas And The Holidays

Be sure to make this holiday season safe and enjoyable for everyone in your family by observing the following dog safety tips:

Dogs and Christmas Trees
If you have a live Christmas tree, keep the water stand covered. Pine sap mixed with water makes a poisonous drink for your pet. The smell of a live or artificial tree may cause your pet to urine-mark it. It may help to bring the tree into an isolated indoor room for a day or two, so that it smells more like "home."

Secure Christmas trees to a wall or ceiling hook with sturdy fishing line. This will help prevent the tree from toppling over should your dog jump on it or accidentally knock it over.

Dogs and Christmas Ornaments
Pick up any ornament hooks, tinsel, or ribbon that fall on the floor. Your pet
could experience serious internal injuries if any of these items are ingested. If you have a dog or cat that is tempted to play with the ornaments on your tree, decorate the bottom third of the tree with non-breakable, plastic, or wooden ornaments, or decorate only the top two-thirds of your tree. Make sure that your dog has plenty of dog toys available, so they do not become bored.

Dogs and Holiday Treats: Be Extra Careful
Keep holiday treats and candies out of your dog's reach. Additionally, remember to move out of reach any wrapped gifts under your tree that may contain food items. People food, especially in excess, can make your dog sick. Chocolate, onions, raisins, and alcohol can be fatal to dogs! Only feed your dog healthy dog treats.

Dogs and Holiday Lights
If you have indoor holiday lights, be sure they don't hang so low that your dog could become entangled in them. Remember to unplug the lights when you're not home to supervise your dog.

Pets and Candles: Safety First
If you have a bird, make sure it is safely in its cage if you're lighting any
candles. Additionally, lit candles should be kept out of any dog's reach.

Dogs and Holiday Flowers and Plants
Poinsettias, mistletoe berries, and other popular holiday flowers can cause serious stomach upset for pets. Check with your veterinarian or local poison control center to find out what holiday plants and flowers you need to keep out of your dog's reach.

The information in this article is courtesy of the Dumb Friends League. All rights reserved.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Well, in celebration of Thanksgiving I thought i'd post Winston's holiday photo for 2005! There are a lot more, but the rest will have to wait until closer to Christmas!

Winston's favorite Leader Dog, Willow had a wonderful idea of posting what she was thankful for this Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure that Winnie would be thankful for a lot more than I can think of, but here is my best attempt. :)

*His foster mom, Laura!
*His original trainers (Betsy, Roseanne and Julie)
*His job
*Not being stuck in the house all winter like last year while I recovered from surgery.
*Clicker Games
*His favorite Aunt, Megan.
*The Hilbert-Hess family (including Delta Therapy Dog Molly!)
*His well trained best friends in the entire world!! CPL Ivy, SSD Ross and SSD Sequoia!
*His little brother, Liberty
*Food!!!
*Zeth and Dierdre and the entire Phila Pet's gang!!!

And so much more, i'm sure.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Winston and I started a new task this week! Something i've wanted to do for years, teach Winston to throw things into the trash for me! I'm free shaping the entire behavior, and it's been too much fun. He has definitely not gotten it yet, but he will. :) I'll try to post a more in depth entry about the training if anyone wants me to.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2005-11-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

It seems as though Winston either has full days of working, or days full of lounging! Last Wednesday we did our first children's demo since, g's, probably a few weeks before my surgery!! It was a low key demo for a friend of the family's sons, show and tell!

We went straight from there out to lunch, and then stopped by Tammy's to let Winston play w/ her dog, Kody.

It was a good thing we did that because I didn't have another chance to let him relax until 10pm! I had an hours worth of copies/faxes to make at Staples and then went home to get my mom for the Keystone Human Services 33rd Anual Dinner. I wish I would have taken some pictures there, but I was too preoccupied meeting people to take pictures! It was definitely one of the most classyy places Winston has ever been to, and I am proud to say he behaved very gentlemen like.

After we got home, the first thing Winston did was hop up on the couch. He was out in no time!

We had a pretty laid back thursday and friday, but we spent two and a half hours in the car on the way to the airport yesterday to pick up Laurel. We spent the rest of the day at King Of Prussia shopping.

Anyway, that's enough for now! Hope everyone is having a great week! Oh, and I can't wait to post pictures of our chirstmas cards this year, they are amazinggg!

Somewhat Follow Up to Pegging Leash To Wheelchair!

2005-11-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

Shortly after teaching Winston to peg himself, I got a new wheelchair. Before I had time to reteach him, I had surgery, and well, then I spent the next seven months in bed. Haha. Although, we have not began working on that again yet (too much else going on!) I did see some need to do a new set of photos for the blog! Here are the photos of the new and improved peg. Hopefully this one is pyscho proof! (a few months ago, Liberty pulled so hard on my peg that the ENTIRE thing ripped off of my wheelchair! He went running w/ all of my hardware attached to his collar. Hahaha)

Photo 1:

Black, 18ft, LEASH Flexi (Not Cord!!) Attached w/ two Hose Clamps. The Flexi is left in the unlocked position. A metal rod is bent to the appropriate shape (length, height, ect) and attached by a third Hose Clamp. Mine, is bent in five 90 degree angles! The first is going INTO a hole drilled into the base of my wheelchair. This is the ONLY modifying done to my actual wheelchair.

In the next side view, you can see that a ring is tied to the leash.

This ring, when hooked onto the peg, keeps the dog at a desired length of space.

Here are two front views, one is unpegged and the other is pegged.

This method for me has been incredibly helpful. The extra space, when safe, allow Winston to go further when pottying, and deliver an object to someone that is further away without ever being taken off of his leash.

The final two photographs show him on his leash pegged, and unpegged!

Please email me with any questions or suggestions!

i'm pretentious

2005-10-23T13:18:00.001-07:00

I was at a function today with a few hundred disabled people, and about four other people had service dogs (some were SDITs). This made me aware of something. I'm incredibly pretentious! The working dogs were over weight, the one in training (I think it was) barked, and worst of all, I think two of them were there illegally. The ONE I really wanted to see, I didn't even get a glimpse of. There was a freaking therapy dog there! I hope they got permission to bring her. She was very well behaved, kudos to them, but hi, therapy dog's don't have public access. The other had just been diagnosed w/ a neuro muscular disease and in the same breath as telling me it is too much for her to be in public, they tell me they are leaving to go get her!!! I don't know. I just, must have really high standards. The one guy was yanking his lab around, and it really upset me...but they were not from my organization, so I blew it off. Later on I saw someone who was in our program, doing leash corrections and of course the dog didn't respond, because she had no clue what tugging and dragging her by the leash meant! I know Winston isn't perfect, he sniffs the air a ton ton ton. And I am by far not a perfect handler, but come on people these are basic things!! Okay, sorry, just had to get that off of my chest...

Please Help Out

2005-10-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

http://helplinzey.chaosworkshop.com

Scratching Board & Summer Photos

2005-10-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

It has been entirely too long since I have updated!! Things have been busy around here with some legal issues. Who wants to hear about that though!! On to more important things!

After ordering a dremmel I realized I will still need a LOT of assistance using it and therefore, it isn't really making life any easier! Over lunch one afternoon at SSD everyone was discussing using a Scratching Board to wear down the out of control dogs nails. This sounded very appealing to me, and even after grilling them for info, I was intriged. The idea was put on the back burner for a few weeks because of the legal issues, and I continued to work with Winston on the dremmel. Well, the night of my birthday, our Puppy Raiser Coordinator presented me with a hand crafted Scratching Board!! IT IS SO GORGEOUS!!! Well, back to the point at hand, free shaping a paw target is going GREAT! He just started scraping his paws, which is the EXACT motion he needs to do in order to file his nails! It was a great training experience, that he and I both enjoyed. Other than that, training has been really average lately!

To wrap up the summer I thought I post some great shots that i've gotten of him! <3 Enjoy!

Winston loves when we do basic obediance outside, he gets goofy!

Smiling for a "down/stay"

I went inside, made some phone calls, and cought a great shot of him waiting in his "stay" on my way back to release him!

We had our end of the summer bath on such a beautiful afternoon! Before and after my mom bathes him, I like to brush him really good. There are some of my favorite photos of him! He just looks so cute up on the table!

Alright, that's all! Happy Fall to everyone!

Update On Cyst 4 (and more)

2005-09-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, we saw the vet again yesterday. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. The black color that it is healing to could be one of two things. The worst of the two is a sign of Melinoma (sp). The black coloring could also simply be the reaction of the trama to the area. Apparently it happens the most to Poodles and Bichons. Winston's antibiotic's were prescribed for another week, when we will re-evaluate the situation. He seems much happier and eager to work lately, so Doctor Barren and I both feel that it is healing nicely.

On a brighter note, I asked a friend of the family if she would like to have Winston at her house for the day while I worked on Tuesday. With Winston's separation anxiety becoming nearly extinct I wanted to see how he would do spending time away from me, and the house. Cammy and her son Austin have a 10yr old Wire Haired Jack Russel, who did not enjoy the stay and (apparently for Winston's safety haha) had to stay crated for the duration of the visit. I came home to a very happy Labrador showing no signs of anxiety and a wonderful email I thought i'd share with everyone!

Hello,
Just wanted to let you know that Winnie was a good puppy today. Can I trade you Gabby for Winnie plus $100 , that I would have to borrow from you because I am broke???? He was a perfect gentleman, my dog barked the WWHHHole time. See ya tomorrow morning @ 8
Cammy

Winston's friend SSD Ichabod was over for the night yesterday. Spending time with the two of them makes Winston seem SO OLD. Poor Icky wanted to play and Winston was just not in the mood. Something interesting to make note of though happened. Ichabod was on his partner's lap while they rough housed. Winston instantly intervened and got between the two. I'm pretty sure he associated it with when my mom's pet Great Dane is on me, which is not good. Winston wasn't aggressive in breaking the play up, but he certainly acted as the mediator.

I canceled my doctors appointment in Philadelphia for today because of gas prices and took the afternoon to work more on Winston pushing my arm onto my armrest. He is getting great at it, but not quite good enough to put a command to it yet. I'm thinking about using "bump" for the command. I also got some really great photographs this afternoon that I will post soon!

<3

A New Friend

2005-08-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

Winston is now being idolized by a new puppy in the family!! His name is Lewis and he is an 11 week old French Bulldog.

He is owned by my primary nurse and good friend Amy. This little guy will be accompanying her to work (shhh) and has been doing WONDERFUL! He truly loves Winston (who isn't too thrilled with him). Winston is very apprehensive about hurting him because he is so tiny. I started basic c/t with Lewis and Winston barked the ENTIRE time. Jealous much? Thank God he doesn't do that at the kennel while i'm working!

Update on Cyst 3

2005-08-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Winston has been on the two strongest possible antibiotics for his cyst, as well as the pain medication combined for six days. It went from nasty, to TERRIBLE, to healing!!! For those of you that have been wondering and can stomach it, here are the photo's.

First Day
Today

I am finally relaxing and confident that this cyst will clear up and surgery will not be necessary!

You know Winston's sick when he's snuggling with Oliver!

Update on Cyst 2

2005-08-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Went to the vet again today because it looked significantly worse.

The vet put him on the strongest antibiotic, and said to watch it over the weekend.

Winston's temperment continues to consistantly be positive.

He works with moderate enthusiasm.

Time to go give him his last dose of meds and call it a night.

Thanks to all for such support.

Update on Cyst

2005-08-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the vet, things are no better.

He was switched to a stronger antibiotic and put on a strong anti-inflamitory medication.

Still no cone though, because his licking is controlled and it will stress him out more.

Discussed things further about removing the cyst. Surgically vs Laser.

I'll update as I know.

Thanks for everyone's support. It is greatly appreciated.

Passed TDI - Cyst On Paw

2005-08-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Good or bad news first?

How about chronological order?

First off. I don't remember if I updated on Winston's eye. It was a cyst, and it cleared up on it's own, perfectly within the next week.

Last saturday (August 6th) Winston passed his Therapy Dog International test and also his AKC Canine Good Citizenship Award. We traveled to Lewisburg with one of my good friends and passed SSD trainers, Betsy. She was testing Scarlette, a 12 month old relative of Winston. (whom I fell head over heals in love with!) Winston did amazing, and I am so proud of my baby!

The week went by fast, Winston barked a lot in the crate and kennel while I worked, but that's okay.

I went to bed wednesday night after my nightly goodnight routine with Winston (petting him and playing a tiny bit). When I woke up thursday morning he had a quarter sized, red, irratated, almost oozing/open, lump on the inside of his right paw. I freaked out, called the vet and got an appointment for 3pm. I took out some frozen Busy Buddies and gave them to him before running the errands I had scheduled to run. There was no way he could work with that on his paw. Made in home just in time to pick him up and make it to the vet. At this point I knew it wasn't a tumor but it really looked like one. Doctor Barren my vet came right out and saw us in the waiting room. He is very concerned. He did a topical swab biopsy and it is not a tumor of any sort. It is another cyst, but much more serious. Winston is on an antibiotic and if it is not any better by monday morning we will be referred to a specialist. Doctor Barren said that he has seen them on Labs, in that specific area, get so bad, that they require amputation.

I can't think about it, I have to take this one day at a time. He has had two doses of his antibiotic and I think it seems less red and irratated, although the size is the same. I'm on my way to PetSmart to get dog food and more toys to keep him occupied. My dad kept saying things like "Well, you can't have a three legged service dog, so i'll take him." It took everything in me not to cry. Winston responds well to Antibiotics, so lets just hope for the best.

Please keep him in your prayers!

Therepy Dog?

2005-07-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

WOW! Have we been busy? Where to start? Well, the last post had the photograph of Winston in regards to this random hair loss and odd patch around his eye. I've kept a close eye on it and asked all of the trainers at SSD about it. No one seemed too concerned so I scheduled an appointment at his vet for my next day off (tomorrow). Yes, i've been working full time with SSD. AND IT'S BEEN AMAZING. Winston has done WONDERFUL when he comes along. He settles quickly after meeting dogs, and did not attempt to play with ANY of them (while on duty). I am incredibly proud of him. It's just amazing to watch him work in such high stress situations! Yesterday was by far the toughest day he has had in a VERY long time. We started at 5am. He did some alerts to my nurse/mom so they know i'm awake or ready for more help. Then around 6:30am he got breakfast and had some time to go out back to potty. By 6:45 he is inside on my bed in a down stay while my moms daycare has drop off time. This in and of itself is always a challenge for him. He loves greeting people with loud barks and a wagging tail, but now he has to stay quietly on my bed, for about 25 minutes. Then he got dressed and as always, watches me do my makeup (retrieving things every two seconds haha). By 7:45 we are in the car to make it to transfer* by 9:30am. It was our first day with the new SSD Clients in public! Although it was easier for him in that environment, it was much more challenging for our new partners! The dogs were doing really well all morning. I was so impressed with Winston's behavior while I taught. We worked on the elevators with Erica and SSD Sequoia about four times in a row (that’s eight times passing through it) and he did great every time. He and Sequoia (I can never spell his name right haha) work very nicely side by side! He did a great under for lunch, and then we were headed for the rough afternoon. It was SWELDERING outside! I hated to even walk him across the parking lot. The heat index was 105 degrees! So off we go to our office at KCFS, for what I thought was going to be a simple taping for a promotional video of us demoing what the dogs can do. Boy was I wrong. Winston hadn't been into these office's since last summer (the last puppy class I saw discharged SSD Hopi at, and SSD Voltaire's first puppy class) so he was very sniffy and distracted. Once I got into the room that I once thought was large and now realize is too small for seven service dogs, their partners, five trainers and one nurse, Nancy asks me if I think Winston will lay beside "her" for the 15 minute video. Hesitantly, I said yes. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. After introducing myself to this women and answering her questions about Service Dogs, I start to realize how chaotic this shoot was going to be due to lack of preparation on Keystone's part. Okay, so now they are ready for "the dog". I bring Winston over to the seat where the reader was, and ask where they want him to lay down. After changing their minds a few times they decide that they want him to be sitting because they want a closer shot. Well, if any of you have dogs, you know keeping them in a Sit for 15 minutes is a difficult task, especially from across the room. Alas, we decided to have him curl up in a comfy chair. I do regret not taking any pictures. I am so mad that I didn't!! He was so funny! He kept giving me that "I CANT BELIEVE YOU ARE DOING THIS TO ME" look. After the camera's started rolling, and the lines began to be read, something kept sounding wrong. Finally, I looked at Karen and we both realized THEY WERE CALLING WINSTON A THERAPY DOG. Okay, so I know most people don't understand the difference - but we have to set the standard! If we don't, who will? Luckily our PR trainer was there and Karen quickly found her. I think she "kindly" argued with them for 15 minutes before we had to settle on the line reading "Winston, a service dog who is also a therapy dog...". Two seconds after the video was finished Betsy leaned into me and said "He needs to get his TDI" when I laughed she smiled and said "no...i'm serious. Soon." Haha! After all of that Winston was pretty shot. I tought for a few more hours and then we headed home. He was such an angel!

Eye problem?

2005-07-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

I talked to SSD about this, and the director seems to think it is not a problem what so ever. But it is alarming me, and i'm keeping a close eye on it.

1. Notice above his right eye the light colored patch. It is bald and pink. Somewhat raised.

2. Recap: Back when I was @ CHOP Winston was seen for two bald spots on top of his head. Perfectly cemetrical. The dermetologist tested for a few things (Ring Worm, Mange, ect) and it came up negative. They used a fungal spray and antibiotic and it cleared up. SO! Now, under both eyes, he has two small patches beginning to bald!

Comments welcome!

Vet Check Up

2005-06-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

Winston had a check up today for his unknown balding (mouth eaten haha) spots (which are gone). It was perfect timing because his gums were bleeding yesterday when I went to brush his teeth! The vet did an entire physical and is confident he is 100% healthy. I kept imagining Deirdre and Christina (from Phila Pets while the vet looked him over. Sigh. It actually made me teary eyed! Sigh.
Tomorrow is PT @ Chop and then Fathers Day at my Dads.
Saturday is an appt at my Salon, and then Winston and I are doing an all day SSD promotion at Cabela's!
Sunday is CAMP! Three SD's in one cabin! Expect TONS of great pictures!
Thanks to everyone for wishing Winnie a happy bday!

Happy Birthday Winnie!!!

2005-06-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today is Winston's sixth birthday! For breakfast he got his usual plus a canned of Nutro because lord knows he loves canned dog food! And we practiced "Nurse" from outside for awhile because for whatever reason it is his favorite command lately. We planned on going to PetsMart to pick out a birthday toy, and then to the dog park but it is storming heavily so that is a no go.

Happy Birthday SSD Winston
he truly is the love of my life

Winston's litter

Winnie at 8 weeks

(sniff!)

Winston and I in our transfer four years ago

Winston after our first service dog demo in an elementary school - spring 2002!

Winston and his role model, CPL Louie (rip)

Winston, my best friend and I at prom!

SSD Ross and SSD Winston

<3 i'm going to go play with the birthday boy, now!

Stay at the Radisson - Birthday BBQ

2005-06-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been insanely busy lately! My friends Tiffany and Erika are here for the weekend, and sleeping still so I figure while I have a little time I would post!

Last week Winston and I stayed at TheRadisson's Warwick Plaza which is in Rittenhouse Square, Philly. I had four doctors appointments three days in a row at CHOP so my dad agreed to help pay for the room for my nurse and I. The Radisson is no more than one block from The Rittenhouse Square Park which is more than convienent when you have a service dog! Each morning (because we were crunched for timex10) I would drop off the valet parking ticket and then walk Winston myself while my nurse finished getting ready. By the time Winston was finished with his business the van would be ready and waiting! He was in his glory the entire week, as he really seems to love hotels lately! The minute his vest is off he tears around the room, on the beds (and people) grabbing cell phones, remotes, or anything else he thinks I might want!

He accompanied me to two incredibly resaurants across from the park. At Bleu we sat outside on the sidewalk. He was an absolute angel both nights, backing under chairs and ignoring the city noise. The one photo I have doesn't show as well as I wanted it to how great of an under he was in!

He had to back under the chair, and situate himself between the wall, a trash can, and my wheels. He laid their for two hours without moving except to look at me!

Before I for another appointment last week, I came in to see Oliver my cat curled up on my bed beside Winston who was in a down stay.

I just can't get over the freaking picture.

Winston doesn't generally enjoy the cats being close to him, at all. Classic!

Well, we're going to Outback so I better wrap this up!

Missing Link Plus

2005-05-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

I have really procrastinated starting Winston on a suppliment that all adult dogs should be taking. After receiving a letter from SSD to all partners about their dogs health (weight primarily) I got my act together. I bought a bag of Missing Link Plus and he started it this morning. Here is what they say about it...

The Missing Link Plus line of products feature a unique blend of Glucosamine, Omega-3 & -6 Essential Fatty Acids, and trace food components to provide the ultimate in joint support.

The Missing Link Plus formula combines the benefits of GLUCOSAMINE with all natural, human-gradewhole foods, carefully chosen for their nutrient profile and synergistic effects. The product is in the form of a granular powder that is easily sprinkled on the animal's regular food on a daily basis according to weight.

The Missing Link Plus Formula includes:

Glucosamine to stimulate the production of collagen, the protein that helps support healthy joints.
Omega-3 & -6 Essential Fatty Acids to reduce inflammation and promote joint mobility, a healthy skin & coat and balanced energy.
Enzymes and probiotics (beneficial bacteria) to maintain normal digestion.
Fiber for bowel health.
Phytonutrients and traces of various vitamins and minerals important for overall health and well being.

Ingredients:
Flax Seed, Glucosamine, Blackstrap Molasses, Freeze Dried Liver, Rice Bran, Primary Dried Yeast, Sunflower Seed, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Carrot, Freeze Dried Bone, Dried Fish Meal, Freeze Dried Oyster, Sprouted Green Barley, Dried Kelp, Lecithin, Garlic and Yucca Schidigera Extract.

-

At PetsMart yesterday we started working on his concentration in the check out line. I made the mistake months ago allowing the cashier to give him a bone and ever since then he would be a bone head in the isle while paying to the point of someone else having to pay for me. It took about 10 minutes to pay and have him carry the package to my friend. Two more visits and he'll have it down again. Otherwise he was a DREAM come true. He saw two puppies and looked at me, smelled a huge gross rawhide and looked at me! That's all really.

Oh, that letter also mentioned the amount of real hard play time and i've decided for Winstons sake to move to philly so I can have Phila Pets play with Winnie every day :)

Period.

Home Again

2005-05-05T21:25:00.001-07:00

After nineteen days in the hospital Winston and I are just about settled in back home again. I didn't realize how serious he was while we were there. Once inside, but before his vest was even off he pranced across the room and grabbed a toy from his basket! He has been rolling around, sleeping on his back, and barking up a storm! I plan on making some entries about multiple topics from our stay at the Seashore house.

Yesterday was our first time shopping since November and he was sooo great! His eye contact and attentiveness has really improved. He did have a "meltdown" though. I really expected it because of how stressful it is on them to be reintroduced into new situations but okay so someone dropped a cappicuno RIGHT where my lift lowered and Winston hates walking through water let alone that. Anyway in order for him to get into the van he has to do a "Footplate" (Up onto my...) so that I can reach his leash...well that just wasn't happening! He just could not focus on anything other than "Leaving It" and jumping into the van. I walked him away from the situation and even tried pottying him again...but after five minutes FREEZING my butt off I cheated and had my mom unhook him.

Tonight in KFC he was such an angel while I continually dropped food he just laid there watching me!

My sister and mom went to SSD's anual grad dinner and with the exception of a very select few dogs they were apalled by their behavior!! Augh! More later...sleep now!

We miss Phila Pets :(

2nd Rehab Update

2005-04-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

Again I only have a few minutes to update but these three pictures are worth a million and five words!!

the secret garden that only zeth and those whom he deems worthy may encounter...

on the bridge leading to the dog park they've been taking him too!

and last but not least...

his glamor shot!!

gotta run!

first update from rehab (very short)

2005-04-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

wow, have things ever been a crazy whirl wind these past two days!
the mjaority of everything has been spectacular!!
I CANT BELIEVE HOW FREAKING AWESOME THE PHILA PETS DOT COME CREW HAS BEEN. more on that later though!! ee!
winnie has been very well behaved minus his random "i should bark at that person" times. okay- to the guts of the entry!

okay so my nurse put me on the bed pan and was instructed to come back in one minute to take me off.
well, she forgot.
when i reached for the call button she had left it on the desk!
normally i would have had win get it but she also left the rails up and he cant get to me with them.
i thought about it and i called winston over to see if he could just pick it up and mouth it enough to get it to push...well the rails are solid plastic so kids dont get stuck under them? so winston couldnt even do a direct retrieve because he oculdnt see my hands or what i was pointing too.
at that point my leg started to really hurt and he definitely sensed it because he on his own got his favorite toys are started bringing them to me by jumpnig all the way onto my bed
when that didntt help and i said to him 'winnie wheres the nurse?" (oh the door is VERY not sd friendly)
he jumped off RAN to the door - pawed at it and then started barking
two nurses came vey quickly.

i doubt they'll do that again.

moral of the story

barking labrador retrievers remind the nurses they're being idiots.

ill write more tomorrow!

oh and zeth got a GREAT shot of winston on the bridge!!

Off to CHOP!

2005-04-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Winston's dressed and ready! We'll try to update from the hospital!

Wish us luck!

The Implications of Service Animals in Healthcare Facilities

2005-04-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

In prep for rehab I did a little new research as to the laws regarding SD's in health care facilities. Man, I hit gold! The Implications of Service Animals in Healthcare Facilities written by The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. can be downloaded in full by going here.

It contains the following catagories-

*THE DEFINITION OF SERVICE ANIMALS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

*APPLICATIONS OF SERVICE ANIMALS FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE DISABILITIES

*HOW SERVICE ANIMALS DIFFER FROM THERAPY ANIMALS

*SERVICE ANIMAL TERMINOLOGY AND SUPPLY

*HOW HEALTH CARE FACILITIES ARE AFFECTED BY LAWS THAT APPLY TO SERVICE ANIMALS

*IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND SERVICE ANIMALS: CERTIFICATION AND OTHER MYTHS

*IMPLICATIONS OF SERVICE ANIMALS FOR INFECTION CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT

*HANDWASHING FOR EMPLOYEES, CLIENTS, HANDLERS, AND VISITORS

*HANDLER AND CLIENT EDUCATION

*STAFF EDUCATION

*SERVICE ANIMALS IN SPECIFIC CLINICAL AREAS

*HIGH-RISK CLIENT POPULATIONS

*ZOONOTIC RISKS

*SERVICE ANIMAL HEALTH

*AREA CLEANUP

*ALLERGIES

*ROOMMATE ISSUES

*STEWARDSHIP OF THE SERVICE ANIMAL: ITS CARE AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN THE HEALTH CARE FACILITY

*INCIDENTS INVOLVING SERVICE ANIMALS AND FIRST AID

-

This is from the first time Winston and I went to NYC. He had never been there and his reaction when we checked into the hotel was proof that the experience wore him out! I thought the picture was the cutest thing ever so I thought i'd share!

First Time Working w/ SD Since Surgery (4months)

2005-04-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Winston is such a great dog. I tried out my new (very old) hoyer lift today. After forty-five minutes of wrestling with it I was finally in my chair. The moment I got situated, Winston was at my full attention. We did a "Heel Back" right away and it was like he hadn't ever stopped working! We also practiced "Foot Plate" (an "Up" onto my footplates) and "Back" and some simple "Heels". If you could have seen the look in his big brown eyes when I got the brush out to groom him...it was priceless. The second we were outside he was up on the bench waiting for me to start! He is such a great dog...I can't even express how true that is. When we came back inside he did a PERFECT "Go On Through" and followed me into my bedroom, where he laid on his bed (a pink bean bag chair he claimed as his own) and watched my nurse intently.

SD + Ortho Rehab Clinic

2005-04-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

I've posted for input on the handful on Service Dog message boards I am a member of, but i'm pretty sure I know what i'm going to do. Whether or not Winston will provide assistance to me while I am in rehab is not the question. Rather, whether or not I can provide HIS care is what is being contemplated. I think for the first few days I should just focus on my own needs and getting into a routine there. Once I am confident that I can potty him and what not, I will have someone bring him up for me! I know I am very very lucky for having someone I trust to watch Winston for me. The only other concern I have with Winston being in the hospital with me is this: I will be having water therapy and during that time I have to figure out what to do with him. Any ideas? Okay well, that's all for now!

Original post - 4/1/05

although im a little over whelmed right now i want to jot down some thoughts.

it looks as though i will be admitting myself into the childrens hosp of phila's ortho rehab clinic for a few weeks.

whether or not i take winston.

this will consume my thoughts for the next few weeks.

general comments are very much appreciated.

thanks guys.

Support SSD!

2005-03-31T21:17:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to tell everyone i've got really nice small sized window magnets that have the SSD logo on them with the word "supporter" down the side!
If you make a donation to ssd I will send you one to rock!
The donations can be any amount and i will mail it to you. :)
So help represent this organization that makes it possible for me and others with physical disabilities to be independent!
-
Linzey

Ask me for the address!

Read more about Susquehanna Service Dogs or what a service dog likeWinston does!

Photoshoot

2005-03-27T23:56:00.000-08:00

Winston's favorite "aunt" was over tonight and as he was sleeping she laid her sunglasses on him. It turned into an entire photo shoot. We're easily amused :)

and my personal favorite...

Easter with his new niece, Becca!

2005-03-27T23:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Easter! Winston was such a good boy over this holiday. It was a busy day today, with all of my family over, including my sister's new puppy! Shannon and Chris got Becca last week. She is an eight week old GSD.

Winston put up with her relentless need to bite his privates like a champ! My sister couldn't even get a picture of the two of them without the action!

Hahhaha, even after hours of it, he would still turn over onto his back in submission.

Voltaire, our foster puppy followed her around like he had never seen another puppy! It was rather cute if I do say so myself.

Waiting for the Ambulance + Last Nights Victory!

2005-03-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

Winston is rather antsy, as he has caught on to the routine of getting ready for me to go to the hospital...without him. Last time he threw up his breakfast right after I left, so i'm not feeding him. Nick, my great friend and trainer at SSD is coming to pick him up at 9 because like I said, he is a great freaking friend. I have Winston vest out. In the packs is my clicker, poop bags, two meals worth of food, his shot records, a law book, water bowl, gentle leader, leash, mini lint roller and haha fliers for a concert...I also have Winston treat bag ready and in it I hid a mix cd, letter and $20 for Nick. Hahah, that sounds like a ton but really it is hardly even full. Winston is curled up on the floor beside my bed, ears back and alert to every sound. If it weren't for Nick, Winnie would be alone with Bill the alcoholic all day! I'd be a mess for my entire hospital visit. I can't express how grateful I am of Nick. He plans on taking Winston out all day to places including the dentist and even a soccer game!

-

Last night I was exhausted and when Winston heard a weird sound he leaped off my bed and nudged my door open. After he came in I was detirmined to get him to shut it again so that it was dark in my room again. I have tried to get him to "close" the door from across the room in my hospital bed ever since I came home from the hospital in November and have not been succesful unless someone pointed to it. Last night after turning my closet light on and off twice he ran over to the door, and looked back at me with that look they get when they finally figure out what it is you need! With very little encouragement he pushed the door shut and ran over to give me kisses!! I LOVE MY BABY!!!

Paws Abilities

2005-03-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

In promotion for

(click for more info)

our local news stations have been doing a ton of coverage on SSD.

WGAL had a great five minute segment last night aboutSSD Gilly and Winnie decided he really needed to be in bed too.

And tonight Winstons mother, Fern was on Fox43!! They were at the training kennel and filmed Magic being trained for balance work (by our karen!!!), and Cindi worked with a yellow lab on retrieving. Nancy did a really great interview also.

foster puppy doesn't like man

2005-03-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

Foster SSD Voltaire...

...had his first negative encounter with someone today. Coincidentilly it's a friend of Bill (my moms alcoholic ect boyfriend) who is very, very drunk.

He has never even hesitated with someone, and he would not stop growling at this man. He followed commands still, coming into my room, but the minute he was in the same room with the man he would begin growling again.

SD's Intuition

2005-03-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

(this is somewhat a joke although Winstons actions are true)
Were you aware that Susquehanna Service Dogs trains their dogs to use their better judgement? When asking Winston to "Nurse" (go find help) if he can only find my moms alcoholic, pathological liar, boyfriend, Winston opts to "Find The Phone" instead. SSD Winston clearly knows he is incompetent and that I am better off with the telephone.

Upset Stomach

2005-02-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

Winston has always, ever since the day I got him, eaten one cup of nutro max in the morning and gotten his other two cups through treats throughout the day. When I had my surgery we stopped doing so much work, so he started getting his three cups all in one meal. Well, when I went to the hospital the last time for an appointment he threw up everything. This continued then three more times over the next two weeks. So, after talking with my trusted Roseanne about what all it could be I started doing things differently. First off, I had my mom go outside with him and watch him to insure he was a) pooping normally and b) not getting into anything. After ruling those things out I got him up in bed to do my own check of his ears and gums. (I don't trust other people very much...not being able to check the backyard myself is frustrating) Everything was great. No scents, redness, swollen ear canals...nothing. Just a big fat lab thinking this was the least fun "stay" ever.

So, I decided before calling the vet i'd try the remedy of GingerSnaps. Word on the street was two or three a day would settle his stomach. woah, I thought he loved steak!! So, along with that I also decided to feed him twice a day, and it is going fantastic. His full belly hasn't affected his working momentum at all.
I've been looking forward to reading UGD Kiwi's Blog. A few of my friends have blogs for their dogs (CPL Ivy and MWD Salem) But this is from a foster parents prospective! It's such a comprensive look into how much work they invest in raising our dogs. Plus, Kiwi looks SO INCREDIBLY MUCH like my beloved Hopi. I miss her so much. Okay, photo story time.
Last year my mom was given SSD Peaceful Little one of "Hopi" to raise as her foster puppy. Only, Hopi decided that she wanted me, always.

With a face like that how could I resist? So, I started working with her. She would become the youngest dog that i've ever worked with. In days I had taught SSD Hopi to "sit" without e v e r having to touch her (except for praise!)

She began watching every last move I made, and became incredibly sensitive to my voice.

-I have to go, i'll finish later!

A photo worthy of it's own entry!

2005-02-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

Now, I know I take way too many photos of Winston and claim theyre all amazing, but this only truly is.

Here is my handsome valentine!

Sudden Cuddling!

2005-01-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well I got a nice surprise from my baby this weekend. Ever since I got him he was not the most physical dog. He loves attention but has never really liked to snuggle. Unless I made him and then he'd jet after a few minutes. Well, two weeks ago my dad had to put our golden retriever to sleep and it hit me pretty hard. For the first time ever Winnie not only initiated getting in bed with me, but laid with me for a good hour or so!! I didn't want to push it too much because he like I said doesn't really like to snuggle. At the same time though I really wanted to encourage him to continue the behavior. Well last night I think it kicked in. My friend and I were watching movies and I decided to call him up and see how he reacted. To my surprise he has hardly gotten off since then. He is very polite about it too! I noticed after he got down and pottied last night that he came directly to my bedside and stared at me. I barely had to give him the command and he was back up! Okay well, that's all for now!

Post Hospital Observations

2005-01-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

Well, in the last entry I talked mostly about preparing for surgery when you have an SD from a very logical stance. What I didn't get into was the emotional toll it took on me. By day 11 I found myself sobbing while watching Animal Planet, and by day 12 I couldn't even ask someone to pick something up for me. If Winston couldnt do it for me, I didn't want it done. Needless to say when my friend brought him home I was in tears. He quickly greeted me jumping up on my bed before checking out the rest of the house. He seemed to jump right into the new routine of sleeping in my other room and assisting me while laying down. The first time he tried to shut my door he was so remarkably excited that he tore the tug right off of the door! Hahah. He didn't start showing any signs of stress until early last week (week five of being bed bound and in pain). First he was whining out in the kitchen while he was completely alone. Then while a friend of mine was petting his ears he winced and cried, causing me to assume it was an ear infection. That was quickly disregarded as his ears were spotless, not red or swollen and had no oder. The next morning was by far the worst. He is always very excited to eat and I must be very stern and not allow him to eat one second before I say, well, this morning was just the opposite. I called him four times before he stood even and then he just stared at me like, "what do you need mom?" He was so slow to jump up to eat it and once he did he vomitted it all up. After talking with Roseanne I agreed it was just his way of showing severe stree signs. Sigh. My poor baby!! Thankfuly Nick came up Wednesday to practice and then Thursday to do a demo. By that night he was back to himself. Having a group of my friends here til sunday helped a ton as well. Okay, ive gotta go!

Surgery for you - what to do with your SD?

2004-12-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

It's been quite awhile and I apologize. I had surgery November 12th and well, i'll get into all of that soon.

Preparing for surgery didn't include making sure someone was here to pickup mail for me, or just simply packing. I had to decide what to do about the question that haunts all of us SD users.
To bring the SD or not to bring the SD? That is the question. Well after weeks upon weeks of concideration, debate, and emotin I decided that it was in SSD Winston's best interest to not come along with me to the hospital. At the point I had planned to have bilateral hip abduction and both large toes fused, apparently causing five days max of hospitalization. Okay so now, I had made my decision about where he would be...what next? Well, if he is not going to be with me, where is he going to be? so I sat down and concidered everyone. People constantly offer to dogsit him. By all means, he really is a pleasure to have around. But that does not mean in any way that they are suitable to care responsibly for my $17,000 service dog/love of my life. Here were my options. Err, here is my list.
~~My Moms Boyfriend Bill~~ - Alcoholic and horrible with the challenges of animals
~~My Dad~~ - Not positive reinforcment based / thinks dogs should just stay in the yard
~~Megan~~ - Never owned a dog and works full time
~~Joni and Dave~~ - Both work full time, but are AMAZING with their chocolate lab
~~My Sister Erika~~ - Lives in an apartment that doesn't allow dogs and works full time
~~Marilyn~~ - Works full time again
Julie and Brian - Home with the baby, they have two other dogs that Winston loves and arevery fimiliar people to Winston. Julie loves positive reinforcement and is 100% trust worthy. Bingo. So, Julie and Brian it is. Now, how do I prepare? First, I wrote a detailed list of commands and normal activities for winston. Then a list of things he is not allowed to do and finally a list of emergancy contacts including my vet, emergancy vet, number i could be reached at, and most importantly the organization that trained him. Other than that it's just choosing what to pack, like favorite toys, plenty of food, ect.

"Nurse"

2004-10-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

After recently using "Go Find Grandma" combined with "Speak" to get Winston to wake up an asleep nurse, I decided to generate a new command for Winston. It is a simple one word ("Nurse") that has him enthusiastically nudge my nurse to get her attention. We practiced for one hour tonight (broken up in three minute segments with five minute breaks in between) and he did very well. He has been super excitable all day, which is why I decided to introduce the command today. We used a masking tape target on my nurses leg and only had to instruct him once or twice to "touch" it. On a few instances he got so excited that he just ran around me barking and wagging his tail...but those cases were all at the end of the three minute session. I started with standing a mere three or four feet away from my nurse and by the end of the hour I got about 20ft away from her. I am very pleased with the progress.

Today we ran errands while waiting for my flu shot and got the chance to practice "open" on new public doors. He is great though and I don't need to really encourage him. He retrieved napkins that I needed to purchase for the jewelry party and gave the cashier all of my items on the first try. Nothing new, just a nice and flawless day.

Okay, well! I need to get into bed. I'll leave you with a new photo from my Dad's house the other day!

Note: Long strain of drool from Winston's mouth

"Open Door" Buttons + Knitting Knot

2004-10-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things around here with Winston have been pretty normal! He has been wanting to work tons and tons, I think I need to dress him and work at home more often, he has such a different personality when on duty than off. He is so much quicker off duty! Yesterday at the mall it took him forever to even attempt to push the "door open" button...and then he stupid thing was broken anyway! Today at the doctors he was much better. I had to laugh because the location of the button was near a fire alarm which reminded me of a story I once heard. A great friend of mine (Christina)was having her SD (SSD Ross push a "door open" button and accidentilly he hit the fire alarm! This was at Susquehanna U! All I could think of was how funny it would be if Winnie did that at Lancaster's Womens and Baby's Center. Heh. Tonight Winston and I are flying solo and joining a new club at our favorite bookstore, Buckhill. It is called the Knitting Knot and I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT. This should be amusing. Winston is usually on his top alert level when I knit because I drop the needles so often he is always picking them up! Well, i'm going to go do some last minute grooming.

Service Dog Newsletter Style Article For People Visiting Home w/ SD

2004-09-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

After the incident with that person taking Winston into the basement I decided that just discussing Service Dogs with people was not enough. I wanted to take not only a more serious aproach to the matter, but also a more professional one. After thinking about my options for a weeks or so I came up with the idea of an information article. I think it has turned out very well (of course I am open to opinions and suggestions) and would like to offer it to anyone interested.

The Articles it contains are;

+What Is A Service Dog?

+Setting Service Dogs Apart From Pets

+A Communities Guide To Service Dog Etiquitte

+About Our Home

The final section is very personalized and if you would like to use it for your own home please feel free to edit it as need be. The file was made in Microsoft Word but I can convert it to AppleWorks if need be. Email me for the file!

Teaching to "Peg" Leash to Wheelchair

2004-09-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Upon request of the best SD partners in NJ, Samantha and Ivy, I am working on blogging how I am currently teaching Winston to "peg" himself. I'll start from the top, but before I do so please remember - I am by no means a dog trainer and these methods are not necessarily the ones recommended by Susquehanna Service Dogs or any other Service Dog organization. Please contact the training facility that you received your dog through before attempting any of the methods I use!

The term "Pegging" originates from what is secured to ones wheelchair with the purpose of attaching the Service Dog's leash to the wheelchair, as in these photographs.

This is a front view, you can see the metal "peg" with the ring around it. Behind that is the black Flexi Lead. This is left unlocked so that when the ring is off of the peg the SD can have a long leash to go through tight quarters or roam further from you.

This second view is from the side with the leash still "pegged"

And finally, this is a photo of the Flexi and peg without being "pegged". It is a little more clear as to how it is set up.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what pegging is and how it is set up, I can begin to describe how Winston is learning to put the Ring, show here off of a leash

onto the peg.

In order to begin the process we gathered a few common training tools.

From left to right; Treat Bag with power treats, Clicker (iclick! yay) Ring, and Target)

Winston was taught that ductape is a target, so he knows either to push/touch ductape or to take it by the location with ductape on it. That being said, I took a piece of ductape about four inches long and wrapped it around an extra ring I had to make a little handle for him. Eventually I hope to be able to take this off as it looks messy and unprofessional.

Holding the ring by the opposite side of the tape, I told Winston to "Take it!" And Click/Treated when he did so. We did this process quite a few times until he was taking it from the tape even when held like so;

This process was very quick and I could eliminate having to use the spare ring almost immediately. The next tool I introduced was a Target. This had to be modified a few times so that I could hold and use it efficiently.

It is a piece of PVC piping about 12 inches long

With a butter lid taped to it

Here is a nice shot of the entire target

When held out, Winston knows to touch his nose to the lid. This is perfect for teaching Winston where I want him to bring the ring.

So, now that he knows to take the ring by the ductape, what I did next was after he picked the ring up (the ring was now on my leash), I slipped the target into the closest location to the peg. For me, this is directly behind it.

Perfect - He brought the ring over to the target and touch it - As soon as it was in an area close to that peg - it was a c&t with a huge party - I really want to reinforce him bringing it to that location.

Once he was bringing it to the target right away every time I began to eliminate the target - Allowing him to naturally bring the ring to the location desired. HUGE C&T PARTY!!!

I keep my sessions short - five or six tries and then a big "okay!" I clean up and find something to do for awhile - then try again later.

Within three days Winston was dropping the ring onto the peg - BY ACCIDENT - Maybe 4 out of 10 times. This command is something that takes a lot for the dogs to realize what they are being rewarded for.

Now that I have a new wheelchair we had to start over, the first session he got it on 2 out of 10 times and the next was 3 out of 10. Ten tries is about two separate sessions.

Winston LOVES to do this, I have to keep the target hidden or else he bring it to me, constantly. This is so much fun for he and I to work on, I really recommend it for a challenge if you and your partner are ready!

PLEASE feel free to ask questions about this as I know it is probably very confusing.

Also, I plan on making a short 30 second movie of it. If you want to see it please email me!

The fear and horror of your dog not being there

2004-09-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight Bill's friend Viki took Winston into the basement with her, seconds before I needed him to come help me. After calling two or three time's I realized it was Winston and not one of our other dogs that she had taken down, shutting the door behind her. I called my mom for a good three minutes before Liberty (who was crated) began barking and causing a rukus downstairs. I guess that got my moms attention and then she came upstairs to see what I was yelling about. My mom acted like I wanted her to put a movie in or something so unimportant. She laughed and said "He's outside I think" Rolling her eyes as if to say "What's the big deal?" He came trotting into my room and waited to help me sit up straight. My mom came in and asked if I needed her help, I spatted off "No, Winston can do it." and off she went. Minutes later I heard everyone looking for Harley outside because when Viki let him and Winston out, she didn't "know" the gate was open! I guess this was my last straw because I just really went into a panic attack. I need Winston. I thought they all understood what that meant, but apparently not. I'm going to have to sit down with all of his friends and put everything on the table for them. There will not be anymore interactions without my permission. Not a pat on the head, let alone letting him go on another floor of the house or outdoors. I was so upset. I talked to Roseanne about it because I was afraid that I was over reacting.
"Why would this person take Winston without asking your permission? I thought Bill had left? No, you would not be out of line at all to tell them to leave your dog alone. You needed him & he wasn't there -- what if you'd needed him for something life threatening. Maybe the person meant well in letting them out but Winston isn't just a dog, he's your service dog & only you decide what he does. Oh, Linzey, I can't get into that with you. But that person was way out of line -- way out of line. You really need to tell them they can be with the other dogs but not Winston. He is YOURS. I don't want to create a problem, but Winston is not a pet to be handled by anyone who comes in the door. He has a special job to do & is worth a lot in both $$$ & ability. Someone's carelessness could cause you serious problems & heartache -- they don't realize what a service dog means to its partner."
I talked to her and my Christina for a good 15/30 minutes and can not calm down still so i'm going to go work with Winnie for a little.

A Glimpse of how it will be for my internship!

2004-09-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day at the Susquehanna Service Dogs kennel. They successfully pegged my wheelchair which I must say is courtesy of Old Man Mike's suggestion combined with the fair weather toolwoman trainer, Karen's ability to peg wheelchairs in a secure manor. It was quite the chaotic mess getting situated, with SSD Maddie, SSD Gideon, SSD William (winnie's dad!), SSD Walter, SSD Nettie was working in the office, plus one gorgeous persian cat that until it jumped onto my lab to eat my treats, made me think my cats were HORRIBLY untrained! Walter's partner was separating aluminum tabs from metal ones, and everyone else (Cindy and Nancy, Laurie was there too!) was working. I got some material to begin reading and went on my way. Winston went right into working mode once pegged to my wheelchair. It was amazing to see how much it helps to have a firm hold on him! On the way out I went through stones which I have driven through many times before in my old wheelchair...well...that was the worst move...ever. My top of the line wheelchair got so incredibly stuck in the stones that it took Laurie, Cindy, Amy (my nurse), karen and Nancy to get me out. Oh, did I mention it was pouring down rain?

*Pictures of SSD Maddie and Gideon taken from SSDCubby.com

MDA Telethon 2004 Chaos & Philly Airport memories

2004-09-07T16:18:00.000-07:00

Well, my new wheelchair still isn't pegged so Winston's leash was secured onto my chair simply by tying it onto my seatbelt. Mental Note To Self - This doesn't work well. Winston had incredibly too much freedom to move in front of me and after the incident i'm about to recall, he took full advantage of that freedom. After parking we got in the elevator to go to the second floor, where the MDA instructed us to go, and there was no "2" button. We chose three and when the doors opened a tiny long haired dachshund ran in! A little spanish maid started screaming and yelling about how she opened a door to clean and it ran out. Seconds afterwards the doors shut and the elevator started moving. WINSTON WENT NUTS. I DON'T THINK HE REMEMBERED HE HAD EVER SEEN A DOG BEFORE IN HIS LIFE. By the time we got the elevator back to the floor the little dog ran out and along with him he took Winston's concentration. When we got out of the elevator he was alright...just very mixed acting. He finally settled enough for me to let him greet SSDRoss but I could not let anyone pet him what so ever the entire day. We was very antsy and sniffy so going to take a walk down Kapona (A festival including an art show in down town Harrisburg that is pretty huge) for a late lunch was the worst idea, ever. He thankfully was great with "leave its" in reference to all of the dogs we saw, and even to food on the ground, but his pulling was out of control. Even whenever we were "under" at the picnic table he pulled to move around. He was easily the worst when some idiot woman called our dogs (because SSD Ross was still with us) by making very loud kissy noises over and over. It was too loud for me to yell at her so I shot her the most evil eye accompanied with, what i've mastered living in the daycare, a stern shaking my head "NO". Apparently this holiday was just the weekend to taunt Winston because at the airport a group of asain people were blown away by Winston, which I initially took a grand compliment. A young child (maybe four?) and his mother pushed it though, leaning down to pet him, waving to him, pointing in his face and what not. I smiled and said a clear "No." while shaking my head, but it was apparent to me that they either did not understand, or could care less. The situation would have been frustrating had it not been for Bob. Wife to Jenny, mother to Hanna, and vice president of Donley Printing. He stood against the wall, arms folded, looking rather prestigious, and blurted out in a somewhat mono tone "He bites." What made this comment that was repeated over much funnier is that he was making direct eye contact with the mother of this tiny child. As if I wasn't laughing hard enough already, Bob continued with "He tore a young boys arm off....once." I wish I had a recording of it because this gentlemens tone of voice was HILARIOUS! I lost it and from that moment on was in hysterics. Oh, how fun it is having a service dog.

Mission - Retrieval of the Treat Bag

2004-09-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

I am about to go start working on Winston retrieving my treat bag. This is something he rarely will do for me and according to Roseanne, can.

First I must accomplish the sub-mission - ~~locate iclick in this mess of a room~~

I'll update later.

-

It is now Sepetmber 7th and Winston is retrieving my treat bag for me on a regular basis!

Journal Entries from our transfer 2001

2004-08-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

These journal entries are from when I was in transfer with Winston...oh man was I ever 16!

5/30/01

Today I met Winston for the second time. We had a short "meet and greet" with them when we could give them treats. For treats they just use dog food. They love it! We learned a few of the commands. We learned "come", "sit", "stay" and "heal". The other girl Courtney who is training with me can not speak. Her dog is trained with signals like sign language. We also learned about the importance of "play time". Your dog is working all day and needs atleast 20 minutes a day of playtime to release it's stress and tension.

5/31/01

Today we got to advance to the next level after reviewing everything else that we learned yesterday, which took most of the morning. We also go to take our dogs outside. The command to make them go to the bathroom is "go potty". During lunch we read through a notebook they gave us full of a lot of information, such as, caring for your dog. After lunch we went through our bucket full of supplies that they provided us with. They bucket itself will be used for water. Inside of it there were many grooming tools. A rubber brush is used first all over the dog, they love this! It feel likes a massage. After that you use a metal brush that is pretty sharp. It pulls hair out with its teeth. After we learned about these tools they took us outside to groom them for the first time. Even with bringing Winston up on the bench I couldn't reach him enough to do this myself. So they said my mom could do it. She likes that because it's time when she can talk and pet him. After we were done grooming them (and covered in dog hair! And I mean COVERED!) we went back inside for our first lession on "take"! This command gets Winston to pick up a dropped or out of reach object, when I point to it and say "Winston, take". We started with easy things and worked out way up to his bowl. This is difficult for the dogs to learn because they must pick it up by the far side and not the side closest to them. After about seven or eight tries Winston got the hang of it and brought it up to me. I then filled it and he put his front paws up on my foot rests and ate it off of my lap! It was so awesome! When he was finished he took the bowl and sat it down. We ended the day reviewing what we had learned. We also "pegged" my wheelchair so that I don't have to carry his leash, it is just attached to my chair!

6/1/01

Today was very challenging yet fun! I dressed Winston all by myself! This means putting on his harness and gentle leader. It took me about ten minutes but I did it! Again, we began by reviewing everything we have learned. Then we walked our dogs in bewtween chairs and I had to keep Winston in the "heal" position while Nancy tried to distract him. We learned about walking through doors. Sometimes you want the dog to go first and sometimes you want him to follow you. The commands are simple, "Winston go through" gets him to go through the door way, turn around and watch me, and "Winston wait" makes him let me go through the door first and follow me through. I also learned what to do if i'm ever in a tight aisle with yummy snacks close to the bottom. I have Winston "go through" so that he is facing me and then I say, "Winston back..." and have him back up the entire length! We took our dogs out a lot today and played for about 20 minutes. Before lunch we learned the "under" command which makes him go under a table or bench. This is so that the dog is not in the way. During lunch (with Winston under the table) we reviewed the "user agreement" which mostly states that we will take good care of our dogs and provide him with a good home, and good veterinary visits when needed. They also told us how much our dog eats a day. Winston eats 3 cups of Nutromax a day. We also discussed the importance of maintaining the dogs healthy weight. An obese dog will faiil immediately. After lunch we started learning how to open doors. The command for this is simply "Winston, open!" But it really means "Winstion tug, hold, give" Sometimes you still have to say "hold" and most of the time you have to say "give". After he drops the rope you say "Winston, take your leash" When he does so you say "Winston come" so that he comes around the other side of you and gives you his leash. Something you have to remember is to have the dog on the side of you that has the hinges of the door on it. We also learned how to shut doors or drawers. "Winston push" is the command to shut things. After this we reviewed pciking up objects. This time they were a little more difficult. The more difficult item was a film case. They said the reason for this is because of it's texture. On monday we get to take them home! YAY!"

6/4/01

Today we practiced over and over all of the commands we already know. Although we covered everything we spent most of our time doing doors. I do it a few times and then Courtney and SSD Willow do it a few times. At lunch we discussed everything that we will do that afternoon and we talk about bring the dogs home with us. None of my family can "bond" with Winston. This will help him and I become extremely close. They pound it into our heads that WE must take complete care of our dogs, we have full responsibility of them at all times. Although Winstona and I have not passed our final test to be certified to go into public, the trainers give me permission to bring Winston along to the Vet for our other dogs check up. This is because the Vet will be able to meet Winston.

At home on our first night we didn't encounter any big problems. Winston laid under my desk while I worked on the computer. My step dad opened the door to hand my the telephone and it really startaled Winston, he jumped at him barking and growling.

6/5/01

This morning they watched us unload out of the van, making sure that Winston stayed seated until I was out of the van and ready for him. I forgot to write yesterday that I learned all of the commands for loading and unloading. Once the ramp is in place I let go of Winston's leash and say "Winston, get in the car!" And he gets up on the ramp, I then have whoever is with tap on the seat and say, "Winston, up!" After we get settled in they ask us to go over the night step by step. We then go straight into practicing. This is our last week at the Hemlock Girl Scouts building. After this we will be practicing in malls. All we did in the morning is practice. We practiced doors,"taking", and leave it. By lunch I was ready for something new. During lunch they showed us how to clean our dogs ears. And afterwards we learned how to do elevators!
Elevators are a very important and difficult task. This is because dogs have gotten seriously injured and even killed doing it. This is what you must do, "Winston, push!" To get him to jump up and push the elevator button If the door opens to the right I have to let Winston's leash on it's long lead, and drive half way into the elevator. This blocks the door from shutting. Next I say "Winston, go through!", he walks through, turns around, looks at me, backs up into the corner and sits. Going out is the same procedure. This takes lots of time and patients. We got to go home early because we were all doing welll! Yay!

Overcoming a new hurdle!

2004-08-31T15:27:00.001-07:00

Today marks a huge accomplishment for SSD Winston!

He opened a door that was between him and "finding grandma".

For real.

I was finished with my nebulizer treatment and needed it turned off so I told him the usual "speak" to get my moms attention, because the door was shut. After twice my mom still didn't hear him. I wanted him to go over to the door and bark (so it would be louder) so I told him to "go find grandma" as he neared the door...just as I was about to say "speak" out of the corner of my eye I saw him lean towards the tug. As quickly as I could I encouraged him to "open!!" And sure enough, with a gazillion wags of his tail he opened the door and pranced out to "find grandma".

I WAS BLOWN AWAYYYY!!!!!!

He got some serious gourmet jackpot treats for that one.

This evening we worked on positioning for when I brush him because i'm in a new wheelchair. He did excellent. Stood perfectly still for ten minutes while I brushed him. The new picnic table's benches work great! Perfect height and stability for him.

<3

New Wheelchair & minor updates

2004-08-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last night I had SSDF Liberty upstairs with me. This isn't an unusual occurance, as he has been frequenting the role of "protector". He was retrieving some items for me as he usually does when Winston got very puppy like and jealous...jumping around and trying to get treats that weren't rightfully his. This problem was solved by having him do a few tasks of his own. Earlier he got his "mega" fix* which always makes him happy.

This morning he did great again with responding to me while I was in bed. He was in the other room and pushed my door open to come to me when I called him. "Spoke" two or three times on command and alerted my mom successfully.

I'm getting my new wheelchair today, hopefully the delivery guy is a dog fan!

I hope'd we had puppy class tonight so that Roseanne could "peg" my wheelchair, but we don't! Bleh, I really don't want to have the alcoholic boyfriend [of my mom] do it. AT ALL.

"Go Find Grandma!" & Einstein Escapes!

2004-08-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, since I haven't learned html like i've wanted to the past three years I suppose i'll cave in and start a simple journal. Wanting to reply to http://www.cpldogivy.blogspot.com/ was also a big incentive to join. Eventually I will post my journal entries from when Susquehanna Service Dog Winston and I were in training, but neither of us can reach them right now, so i'm just going to start with where we are at!

Winston has had trouble listening to more than "stand" and "come" when i'm in bed on bipap, but last night and this morning he did GREAT! He and I have been doing "Go find Grandma!" in which he searches for, and touches to alert my mom. Last night he woke her up twice for me, once while I was in bed. This is exciting because she is on the other side of the house, in bed, causing him to not only search but get "in her face" to wake her up. (Winston isn't much of an "in your face" dog) This morning I woke up with a sharp pain in my right shoulder and after yelling three or four times for my mom, I decided to see how Winston was responding. He came right over and touched my hand after maybe two calls and and stern "WINSTON LETS GO" I got excited and sent him off to "Go find grandma!" and off he ran. I wasn't sure if he had gotten side tracked or not and just as I called him back to me my mom opened the back door and asked if I needed her! She said he stood at the back door giving her that "look"! YES! Huge party and bonus treat for Winnie!

Winston alerts also by giving a solid "Speak" and this morning, he was really funny. I was just about ready to get out of the shower when he peaked his head in as if I had already called him. My mom swears he was annoyed because of how long I take, but I think he's got esp. ;)

Last night as Megan was leaving she found a neighbors dog. She knows the procedure because Einstein, the HUGE yellow lab that he is, escapes constantly. God bless his family, they have four kids and both parents work. They adopted him from the humane league and have been so diligent as to his training. All of the kids took the clicker training classes and are taught proper training etiquette. Anyway, it took us about five minutes to settle Einstein enough in order to read his tags for his family's phone number...that is after he stepped on her toes a few times and twisted her wrist. He is such an energetic dog. I've got to say, it's not the training, it's the dog. Winston was an ANGEL though. He merely stood around watching Einstein tear through the house searching...for what, who knows? I did have to settle Winston though as he got rather short with Einstein while I was on the phone with Dave's wife. As Dave pulled up Winston barked his usual amount but came to me when Dave opened the door.

Okay well, that's enough for today! Hope all of you partners out there are doing well today!