Two steps forward...one step back.

What a roller coaster of emotions lately! We were so excited that Ryan had a chance to Meet the Dogs and then even more excited when he got matched. Unfortunately, 2 weeks ago we got the news that "Journey" was not going to be able to placed as a full working service dog. She was doing great with learning her tasks to help Ryan, but had developed some aggression towards other dogs since she went into Advanced Training. I guess, it happens to some dogs and may not show up until they are older. Advanced Training is a very intense time for the dogs so sometimes they may develop quirks. To the credit of the agency, they decided it would not be safe to have her in public as a working service dog.

It was difficult because the night before we had the opportunity to meet Journey's puppy raiser and he was telling us all the things she liked to do and what a wonderful dog she was. He was actually getting emotional about having to give her up because she was so special. We were so surprised to get the news the next day.

So, at this point we are back to waiting to be invited to "Meet the Dogs" again. There is tentatively one scheduled in January, but Ryan has not been invited. It depends on if there would be a dog that might be capable of being trained to meet the needs of Ryan. If he would be invited and IF he would be matched, he would begin Team Training in June with his new service dog.

As disappointing as it has been, with some time we have been able to see the silver lining in all of it. June would be much easier for Ryan in terms of not having to miss school for 2 1/2 weeks. It would also give him the summer to become comfortable with working with his dog before going back to school. It would also give him 6 more months of maturity - which is a lot of time when you are a kid!

Ryan is disappointed, but he is smart enough to know that it would not have worked with Journey. I think he also is relieved not to have to worry about keeping up with school. He doesn't seem to want to get his hopes up about getting invited to Meet the Dogs in January.

Through, it all we continue to be amazed at how much work, time, and effort goes into training a service dog. There are so many variables that need to fall into place in order to have a successful working service dog team.

We wish you all a joyous Holiday Season! Maybe we will have some good news to share (again) soon!

Meet "Journey" - Ryan's soon to be Service Dog

We got good news!!! Ryan was matched with a service dog. Her name is "Journey". She is a soon to be 2 year old female black lab. She was Ryan's first choice, so he is very excited. She is very attentive. Look at her focusing on her puppy raiser in the above picture! They are training Journey now to do things specifically for Ryan and his needs.

Ryan is planning on having Journey sit at attention when he takes his timed math fact tests so that if he drops his pencil she can be ready to pick it up for him. Typically, she would lie under his desk until she was needed.

Team training is tentatively scheduled for February. It's for 2 1/2 weeks 8 hours/day. It will commence with Ryan and Journey passing a public access test and then becoming a working service dog team.

We are hoping to get some more information and pictures of Journey in the near future.

Waiting...waiting.....waiting......

On 9/23/10 Ryan got to "interview" with 3 wonderful dogs. SSDs Journey, Misty, & Thunder. They were all black labs. When we went to the room they asked Ryan numerous questions about his daily life and what he wanted the dog to do for him. It was quite an intense experience.

After the preliminary interview, the dogs were brought out one by one. Ryan was able to spend some time getting to know the dogs. Then he needed to give each dog various commands. "Come", "Sit", & "Down". They all responded to Ryan's commands exceptionally well. He also had to take the dogs for a walk while in his wheelchair.

The one dog, Thunder, was so funny because Ryan was being very tentative walking him that he was doing a lot of stopping and going with his chair. Every time his wheelchair would start the motors in the back of his chair would begin to "whir". Thunder was funny because when he heard the noise he would stop and look back at his tail to try and figure out the noise.

Ryan also walked the dogs while using his crutches. That proved a bit challenging. The dogs didn't know what to make of the crutches. They did keep looking at Ryan like they were asking "what do you want me to do?". The whole process was videotaped and when Ryan is matched they will mimic his walking style with his crutches to train the dog to be able to walk with Ryan. (I would really like to see that - I can't figure out his walking pattern with the crutches most of the time!).


Now for the waiting part...we were supposed to find out in 2-3 weeks if he was matched with a dog. He has a 50/50 chance. Unfortunately, the lead trainer has been out on medical leave so a decision has still not been made. Maybe next week?

Some Exciting News!

We got our official invite in the mail today! Ryan was invited to "Meet the Dogs". This is the first step of actively being matched with his future service dog. Next Thursday, September 23rd, he will get to meet several service dogs in advanced training. Ryan will be in a room and will interact with each dog on an individual basis. He will need to give the dogs commands to see how they respond to him. All of these interactions are videotaped to be analyzed by the trainers at a later date. Ryan will also get to rate the dogs he likes the most. After the "Meeting", it will take another 2-3 weeks to find out if he is matched with his future service dog. Will post more after his "Meet the Dogs" meeting next week!

This past Sunday, we ran the Harrisburg Half Marathon as a way of raising awareness and funds for Ryan's future service dog. We were a little nervous because it was pouring rain when we drove up to Harrisburg, but it stopped raining all during the race & we all finished! Yeah! It was neat because Ryan and Mark were able to be there to see us cross the finish line. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of all the donors - thank you!! We are so close to reaching the full amount we need to obtain the service dog! We know people donated online, but have no idea how much was donated so we may have very well met our goal! If you did donate online - please accept our sincerest thanks. We anticipate getting the list of online donors this week, so your formal thank you will be coming soon!

Last Day of Seeing the Gemstone Litter

We went to the SSD Kennels tonight and did some more "intensive" puppy hugging. All the puppies have a checklist of tasks they need to work on throughout the day. They include anything from loose leash walking to taking them for car rides!

We put their vests on a few of them - most of them did great. We also practiced some clicker training with one of the puppies. Every time the puppy would make eye contact we would click the clicker and give him a treat. It didn't take long until he figured out the click/treat sequence!

Next task was taking them for car rides. We loaded the one little puppy into a crate and placed her in the car. She howled/whimpered/barked the entire time!! It was the one of the longest rides of my life! Well, not really, but it definitely wasn't a pleasant ride (and it was only a mile!)! The next puppy we took for a car ride was a champ. He just sat in the crate looking at me. One little bark and that was it. What a good puppy!

It was a bittersweet time. This is the last time we will see the Gemstone Puppies on a regular basis. Best wishes to all the puppy raisers who will be receiving one of these "Gems"!

Mark & Ryan doing more "Puppy Hugging"

We have a little more "news" on the Service Dog front. We got a call yesterday. The Patriot News may interview our family about the process of raising funds for a SD. We will keep you posted on any developments.

.

The next Meet the Dogs is tentatively scheduled for the end of September. They have not determined who will be invited at this time. A lot depends on the skills of the dogs in Advanced Training and the people on the waiting list. It's a large waiting list. Ryan is near the "top" of the list so maybe we will get a call?? They seem very particular on selecting the right dog for the right person so we will trust that whatever happens is for the best. If he doesn't get a call this time around the next potential time he would receive a SD would be June 2011.

We've been faithfully visiting the Gemstone litter weekly. It is so neat to see them grow and their personalities blossom. The puppies are going to the kennel this Monday for a week of evaluations and more interactions with the SSD staff and puppy huggers. Next Friday they will be placed with their puppy raisers for approximately 18 months. I am so grateful for these wonderful volunteers who put some much time and effort into raising and training these future service dogs.

Puppy Hugging

We had a great opportunity to participate in "Puppy Hugging" this Tuesday with the "Gemstone Litter" from Susquehanna Service Dogs. Puppy hugging involves visiting and interacting with a litter of future service dogs starting when they are 4-5 weeks old. This early socialization lays a solid foundation for different people handling them . As you can see from the picture, some of the puppies are even wearing their service vests at this early age!

From Puppy to Service Dog

I wanted to share a little about the process of training a service dog. It begins very early while the puppies are still in the whelping box. They are exposed to various sounds, textures, and experiences. "Puppy huggers" start to visit around 5 weeks of age to provide more socialization. These exposures help to provide the foundation the puppies will need to become a service dogs.



At approximately 8 weeks of age the puppies will go to a puppy raiser. This person teaches basic dog obedience and housebreaking and continues to expose the puppy to as many experiences,people, and settings as possible. As the puppy matures they will learn more advanced commands such as becoming "invisible" (lying still under a restaurant table), opening doors, retrievals, etc. They will also go out in public to places such as Zoo America, parades, and malls. It is very important that the dog maintains attention to its handler and follows commands even when there are many exciting smells and people around.



When the dogs are approximately 18 months of age they will enter "Advanced Training". The trainers begin to evaluate the dogs to see if they will make good service dogs and what work the dogs are best suited for. Some of the dogs do not make "the cut" because of various issues.



The dogs who qualify to become service dogs are then matched with their new partner and are trained for 6 months specifically for their partner's needs.



The last step is team training. This is where the service dog and partner learn how to work together. The training lasts for 2 1/2 weeks (8 hour days). The training commences with a graduation ceremony where the dog is presented to the its' new partner.

Dinner with the Dogs

We went to a "Dinner with the Dogs" event the other week. There were approximately 15 dogs there ranging from fully certified service dogs to a 12 week puppy in training. It was awesome to see the handlers/puppy raisers work with the dogs. One of the things that impressed me the most was the way the dogs gave their handlers their undivided attention. Ryan was visiting with some of the dogs and the dogs didn't even break eye contact from their handler while he was petting them!

Maybe one of those dogs will be Ryan's service dog??

Ryan & Cylo

Ryan posing with the Lancaster Barnstormers' mascot, Cylo, at his last very hot baseball game.