O Sky Puppy...How Wonderful are You?

Tonight we did some training. Sky gets so excited when we do "training sessions". She so much wants to work.

We did some "shaping work" tonight. The idea behind shaping is to positively reinforce the dog by clicking and then treating when they do the desired behavior. It is build upon in small steps. You may initially just click for the dog looking towards an item and then when they are doing that successfully, build up to the next step. Sky really seems to love this type of training. It is neat to see her try to figure out what we want her to do. She keeps trying new things until she gets it right.

Sometimes it is difficult for Ryan to push his footplate on his wheelchair down to put his foot on it. We decided to work on training Sky to help with this task. We started clicking Sky just for looking at the footplate and then eventually for putting her paw up near the footplate and then for pushing the foot plate down. In about 10 minutes she was successfully pushing the foot plate down with her paw. I tried to capture it in a picture. It's not the best, but you get the idea!



One of the cues Sky knows is "Tug". She will grab Ryan's coat sleeve and start tugging. If he needs to he can say "back" to get her to pull in the right direction. She and Ryan were having a difficult time before because his arm was getting caught in his sleeve and he couldn't get it out. We purchased a larger coat for him so it would be easier to get his arms out.

One final story. Today Ryan was up in his bedroom with Sky dusting his airplane collection. I heard him singing a song to the tune of "O Christmas Tree". It went like this. "O Sky Puppy, O Sky Puppy. How wonderful are you!"

Belated updates

Ryan and Sky have been doing well. Couple bumps in the road, but making nice progress overall. Sky seems to have settled into school. I went in today to watch them and they have the elevator down pat. I was very impressed.

One issue they were having was Sky sniffing at everything. There's quite a wide array of smells in the school and very tempting for a dog. We discussed it with the trainer and found that Ryan was not providing enough positive reinforcement for good behavior (i.e paying attention to him) when they were walking. So we worked with Ryan to click and give treats while driving his wheelchair. This took quite a bit of practice, but he's starting to get it! We have also noticed an improvement in the sniffing issue now that is he is providing more positive reinforcement.

It is much easier for Ryan when he is in his wheelchair versus walking on his crutches. There are multiple reasons for that 1)he has better control over Sky 2) he can go faster and it gives her less time/opportunity to sniff 3) he can give treats while still moving.

She has definitely developed a bond with Ryan. She will often go check on him if he is another room. She also stays upstairs with him in the morning while he is getting dressed instead of coming downstairs with the family dogs.

Another cool cue she knows is how to tug off Ryan's coat sleeve. This is real helpful when he is in his wheelchair and his arm gets stuck in the coat sleeve. We asked the trainer about teaching this to her and evidently she already knows it! We just never had the opportunity, nor did we think about it in August during Team Training.

School and More

Sky has been going with Ryan to school regularly the past 3 weeks. We bring her in around 12:30pm and she stays with him the remainder of the day.  Then she rides home on the bus with him.  The afternoon is a bit easier for them because they don't have as many transitions and it tends to be a bit more constant.  Overall, things are going well.  She sometimes gets a bit restless at the end of the day. We are not sure exactly what that is about.  The majority of the days we take her for a walk so she can get some exercise & potty before going into school. 

Last week she was in band and was "singing along". Oh, my!  I was reassured it was not a problem.  Ryan has band at the end of the day today so I'm going to go in and check out the "situation". 

One of the cues Ryan wants to work on with Sky is retrieving his back pack from the closet at school.  At the end of the day when he is ready to pack up he needs to wait for someone to bring him his backpack. Ryan sits about 4 feet from the closet so it will not be a long haul.  We are going to practice first after school without other kids or back packs around to distract her.  Next step will be add in the other students & their back packs.

She has been doing really well with retrieving dropped items for Ryan at school.  Yesterday she was feeling particularly helpful and picked up another student's dropped pencil! 

Susquehanna Service Dogs sent a volunteer and demo dog into the school.  They did a real nice job with the mini-assemblies.  They were able to show various cues that service dogs can perform and went over service dog etiquette.  It was well received by the students and staff.  For the most part, the kids in his class just ignore Sky.  And most times she is so quiet that you don't even know she is there.

At home we have been working on various cues.  She is now "finding the phone".  When Ryan gives her the cue she will find the phone and bring it back to him. 

She is also working on getting her bowl from off the kennel and putting it on the floor so Ryan can put the food in it.  She first goes "up" on the kennel then "takes" her food bowl and puts it on the floor.  Ryan gives her the cue to "sit & stay".  He then puts the food in the dish and gives her the "ok"  to eat.  After she is done eating she picks the bowl back up and puts it on the kennel.  Ryan is the only person who is allowed to feed her in order to promote bonding.  He is very committed and knows when it is time for her to eat. 

Ryan is also working with her to carry his dirty clothes to the hamper outside his room and carry his book upstairs at night. 

They are getting better every day!

We have been working on a few different cues with Sky.  Ryan "parks" his wheelchair outside of the classroom and then he walks into the classroom with his crutches.  He is not able to carry his backpack with him so he relies on others to do it for him.  We have been working with Sky to drag his backpack.  It's a work in progress, but she will drag it all around our house to him.  We are planning on doing a practice session at school soon.  I have tried to capture a few pictures, but the dark back pack and the black dog do not make for real great photos!  I also can not figure out how to make them look "nice' in the blog, but you get the idea!



This is why I can never find my running shoes!



Snuggling on the couch

She is super at picking things up for Ryan.  Most times as soon as something drops she will pick it up for him before  Ryan gives her a the cue.  Sometimes she gets over zealous and will start picking things up that are scattered all over our floor (usually Mark's socks or shoes!).

The other thing we have been working on is her carrying things to other people.  She will carry a paper to me that Ryan gives her and vice versa.  We hope to eventually incorporate this into the school setting.  We have also used it when Ryan wants something. I will give it to Sky and she takes it to him. 

One of the next things we want to work on is how to have her get his library books up to the check out counter.  We haven't figured out exactly how we are going to do it yet.  We have toyed around with her carrying them in her mouth (she is not real slobbery, but probably not the greatest idea!),putting them in his backpack and having her drag the backpack up to the checkout or even carrying a small tote. 

Ryan is very much looking forward to bringing her to school.  He is getting very impatient.  If all goes well, we hope to have the meeting with the kids in the class next Thursday.  We will slowly bring her in a little bit at a time & increase it as they tolerate it.  He is so much looking forward to it!
 

My Life: Changed

This is Ryan. I have a few words to say: This dog has changed my life. Taking care of and handling a Service Dog is a big responsibility. But, I have to say Sky is a big help!!   

Some firsts!!

Sharing a moment

Sky holding the door for Ryan

Ryan and Sky waiting for the bus





Today was the first day of school. Ryan did not take Sky. We still have to get some things finalized before he starts to bring her. Ryan wasn't sure how he was going to stand being away from her for 6 hours. If her wagging tail was any indication, she was happy to see him when he got off the bus.

Ryan has been working with her on some of her more advanced cues and she is making great progress. Today she opened the back door for him for the first time! It's hard to see on the picture,but she is holding a strap that is attached to the door to open it for Ryan.

The other picture is just too darn cute.

They passed!!! (A bit belated news!)

Ryan and Sky passed their public access test one week ago today! They are now an official working service dog team! They both did super! I could not have been prouder of both of them. They surprised me (happily) on how well they did on a few "shaky" items.

The public access test is a standardized test that ensures the team is safe and capable of being in public. They will have to take it again in 6 months and then annually, thereafter.

It feels so good to be finished with Team Training. Even thought it was a great experience, it was both emotionally and mentally exhausting. I am so thankful that Ryan did not have to go through training during school.

The trainer is coming back to our house today to work on some things and we will also have a liaison that will be contacting us weekly.

Maybe next week Sky will go to school!

We had a good weekend!

We had a productive weekend! Sky really made some great strides at home with some of her more difficult cues. She seems to be settling in to our routine (i.e. chaos).

One of the things we worked on is her bringing Ryan's crutches to him. She's starting to get pretty good at it. We are still minimizing distractions and setting her up for success by putting the crutches at a place that is easy for her to maneuver them. As she continues to get better, we will add in distractions and make it more real life.

Ryan and Sky also made great progress with walking with the leash (vs. the wheelchair).

She is a champ at retrieving objects. We tried to simulate all the things he could drop in school such as his pencil, marker caps, papers, etc. She is great with it! We had a slight technical difficulty. When she picked up Ryan's baritone lesson book she stepped on it and tore the pages while she was lifting it up! Oops! Apparently,you can make some type of strap on it to help her lift it up. I think we may need to do that!

We also worked on opening doors. We took a short field trip to the mall. I can't get over how well she does at the mall. That's a good thing, because Ryan is so distracted by all the "sights" that he doesn't always watch her closely. I really need to get him out more!

The bathroom.....again

I never realized how much our lives revolved around the bathroom! I'm not sure this is a good thing.

I have a funny/sad story about our bathroom experience at the mall today. The SSD trainer had to leave early to go to NYC with the other Team in Training. We were given the green light to continue shopping/walking at the mall. They were actually trusting us on our own!

We were in Game Stop looking at video games when nature called for Ryan. So off we go in search of a bathroom. We found one and proceeded to the "handicap" bathroom. Proper procedure for using a public bathroom in a wheelchair with a service dog is to have them walk backwards into the stall & sit between the wall and toilet. Ryan then follows in his wheelchair. The problem with the "handicap" bathroom was that the stall was so small that after he drove his chair "in", he was not able to close the door behind him. (I guess, if you use a wheelchair you don't need privacy to go to the bathroom such as a closed door. Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)

The stall looks like this - Sky is scrunched into the corner against the wall, Ryan is trying to stand at the toilet with his chair pushing at the back of his legs & the door is hanging open. I am wedged in there, too, trying to keep the door somewhat closed.

So Ryan is trying to go to the bathroom, Sky keeps resting her head on the rim of the toilet bowl (gross, I know) and then she would look up at Ryan and each time she removed her head the toilet would flush. She did this 5 or 6 times. We finally figured out she was asking "permission" to get a drink from the toilet. (The way they train the dogs to ask permission is to put their head on the object. For instance, if she wants to go up on the couch she would rest her head on the couch and not get up on it until she was given the ok.)

Ryan and I started laughing our heads off - partially because of Sky and partially because of how ridiculous the whole situation was. I'm not sure where she picked up this habit, but she will sneak drinks out of the toilet if we don't stop her.

Needless to say, we did not have a "productive" bathroom break!

School Day

Sky retrieving a pencil for Ryan

Today we went to school! Ryan was not all that excited to go back to school. The SSD trainer met us,the teacher, the aide and a few other people at the school. We did some problem solving and made a few tentative plans. The doors are so heavy and counter-weighted, I'm not sure Sky will be able to open them. That was a bit of a bummer. The school was built some time ago, so it is not very handicap friendly.

But, as you can see in the picture she is doing great retrieving objects for him. We are going to slowly introduce Sky into school. It's going to take some creativity and a bit of trial and error, but I'm sure they will be successful.

Ryan and Sky did great walking in the hallways and going through doors. They have really seemed to figure out how to walk together when Ryan is in his wheelchair. Now the next thing is to work on walking Sky with his crutches.

Ryan also did well letting other people pet Sky. It is proper service dog etiquette to talk to the person and ask permission to pet the dog. The person can say yes or no depending on what is going on. At first Ryan was saying, "Yes, but let me get her into a proper position before you pet her". That was not working well, because Ryan is so soft spoken that all they heard was "yes" and then his voice trailed off. So we were having a lot of "out of control tail wagging dog" going on as the person petted her.

We found it works better if Ryan says "Wait" and holds his hand up. That stops the person and then he can say "yes, but let me get her into position". He will then put Sky in a sit and have her stay and then tell the person it is OK to pet her. She sits there watching Ryan as the person pets her.

We also came back to the house and put some tugs on our doors to start working with Sky opening doors at home.

Tomorrow we go to a different mall to do some more practicing. Next week we go to the Hershey Zoo and Chocolate World. It should be fun considering it is tourist season! :-)

The other team in training went to the mall to get pedicures today while we were at the school. Kara, Sky's trainer and I never had a pedicure. We suggested to Ryan about taking Sky for one next week, but Ryan vetoed it. Go figure!!

I am now a Grandma?!?!

This weekend was a bit discouraging. I think we were practicing too hard & Sky was in a funk. We got instructions Monday to just play with her and do some simple commands on Monday evening. We made a game for Ryan to see how much he could get her tail to wag and butt to shake. This seemed to be motivating for both of them. Ryan was able to tell what she responded to and enjoyed.

We went to the Harrisburg East Mall today. Ryan was really clicking and treating her for good walking. She walked next to him like a champ! I was so proud of both of them. If she did get too far ahead Ryan was able to correct her and bring her back. On Monday morning I was convinced that they were both not going to pass the test, but they did super today!

They also worked on elevators - we need a bit more practice on that one. And Sky was pushing the handicap door openers for Ryan and doing really well. We ate at the Food Court. One of the tests on the Public Access Test is that the evaluator will push food off the table and Sky needs to "leave it". So we got to practice that, as well! They will also put a plate of food or pile of dog food on the ground and Ryan needs to walk within 4 feet of the food and Sky needs to "leave it". She does really well at that cue.

We went back to the kennel for the afternoon and practiced "crutches" - Sky picking up his crutches. She's having a little difficulty because Ryan uses Neoprene covers on his handles and that is not what she practiced at the kennel. So we are taking a few steps back to shape her to pick them up.

Tomorrow is a trip to the school and also to our home. We have been very fortunate that the school has been very accepting and open to working with us with Sky. Our home is a bit of a disaster, but oh well!

Oh....and Ryan also informed me that I am now a "Grandma" to Sky. Seriously? I don't think so!!

The Weekend!

Boy, we all needed a weekend! Team Training is so exciting, but exhausting. Sky is adjusting well. We are still trying to figure out her personality and nuances. We have been working on reinforcing some of the cues while we are at home.

Ryan has been taking her for walks. We have been using the Comfort Trainer for walks. She's not a big fan of it, but she tolerates it. Ryan feels like he has more control when she wears it. Our goal is to eventually transition to just the regular leash once they learn each other's behaviors better. As you can see from the picture, they have incorporated walk breaks into their walk.

He also took her for a walk with his wheelchair on high speed. She really seemed to enjoy it. It was funny to see them going down the street. We found she really likes to chew. Right now Ryan is in the bathroom (Sorry, Ryan!) and she is in there with him chewing on a marrow bone.

I got some great video of her retrieving a fallen pencil. Ryan is also shaping her to push a soccer ball with her nose. She is doing so well at it. She's a fast learner. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the videos to post. :-(

Sky is Home!!!

Sky relaxing by Ryan's chair while he eats his bedtime snack.

Ryan and Sky walking. Sky is waiting for her treat for doing a great job!





Well, today was the day! Sky came home with Ryan. She did amazingly well meeting our dogs. I think our golden, Kasey, finally met his match. She was pulling some of the same moves he typically uses. We had a blast watching them play outside. Our older dog also liked her, but in small quantities (the same as she likes Kasey!). Brandy had to give her a few warning growls when she overstepped her boundaries.


One of the thing we were concerned about was how Sky was going to listen with our dogs around, but she is doing great. She still keeps her eye on her boy and follows his commands. We had a few times of distraction, but it was pretty darn good all things considering. We are trying to figure out how to balance Sky being on duty and having free time to be a dog.


Ryan was funny because when we got home after awhile he told us he was taking Sky up to his bedroom because he needed "bonding time" with her. They were both lying in his bed. He figured out he should get in first and then let her find a space (she was a bit of a bed hog). It was funny because I can't remember the last time he went upstairs to his room except to go to bed. Apparently, having Sky with him was worth the trip up the steps.


Today went much better with walking with his crutches and with his wheelchair. Ryan is figuring out he needs to just move/drive and she will come along. He's trying to be so considerate and make room for her to walk instead of just doing his thing and letting her come along.


I'm going to try and make some videos of them working together this weekend. It's pretty amazing.

Are we there yet?

We are fortunate to live only 30 minutes from SSD's kennel. But, driving there this morning Ryan must have asked me at least 3 times "How much longer until we are there?" Do you think he was excited to see her? He's not one to even ask that infamous question when we go on vacation or long car rides, but he was excited to see his Sky.

Today we learned more cues. Ryan learned how to have Sky open a door for him and hold it open until he goes through. He practiced it while using his crutches and still needs to work on it with his wheelchair. He also worked on having her push things close such as a door, cabinet, or drawer. He will also use the "push" cue to have her trigger the automatic door button for handicap doors.

The other cue he learned was "up". He would use this cue if he wanted her to put two paws up on a counter to retrieve an object or to lift an object such a book onto the check out desk at the library.

It was a good day, but we are both overwhelmed. There is SO much to learn. Sometimes it seems like Ryan needs to learn double because he needs to know how to do the cues while using his crutches and also in his wheelchair.

Ryan is having a bit of a hard time with fine motor skills that require strength and coordination. For instance, with Ryan's wheelchair they have a ring attached half way up Sky's leash that he attaches to a clip on his wheelchair when he needs to shorten her leash. The problem is he has great difficulty opening the clip, holding it open and then putting the ring through it. There is a hook we are going to try that won't require any hand strength, but we need to figure out how to mount it on his chair. Luckily, Sal is very creative & mechanical which will be a big help.

Even though some of these tasks are difficult, Ryan is determined to do it. Historically, he always manages to adapt and figure things out. It's just going to take a bit longer than if he didn't have a physical disability. I am so proud of his determination, persistence, and adaptibility.

Sky is so well trained, but now Ryan and her need to learn how to work together as a team. A valuable point the one trainer made was that all good relationships take time.

Tomorrow is another big day! Ryan is so looking forward to bringing Sky home with him.

Working With Sky

This is Ryan. I want to share a little about how it has been to work with Sky over the past two days. Working with Sky has been a blast! It's amazing to see what she can do compared to regular house pets like Kasey or Brandy. Yesterday I got to hear her bark for the first time! It was really cool to see Sky put her abilities to use in a real-life situation for the first time picking up a ticket for me! Also, she once tried to give me one of my crutches! It's been really great working with Sky. I can't wait to see what day three holds! Oh, why on Earth does mom have like a whole section about the bathroom? Who does that!?

She is perfect!

Sal and I were taking Kasey and Brandy for a walk after supper and I was filling him in about today's Team Training. I kept giving him examples of things Sky and Ryan did and would say "She's so perfect for him."

Ryan's walking style is "pokey", to say the least. When Ryan was walking with Sky, Ryan would take a few steps forward and stop (his typical walking style) and then Sky would take a few steps and stop and wait. They went on and on like this both perfectly content with their walking. She did not pull or seem least bit impatient (unlike me sometimes. Lol!).

She is also so patient with Ryan. His dexterity is a little slow, but she is so patient waiting for her treat.

Ryan loves to snuggle with her on the couch and it seems like she is just as happy being up there with him. I jokingly call her a "couch puppy" - instead of a couch potato. She has the funniest way of getting off the couch - she puts her front legs down and then stretches her back legs out and sort of slides off the couch onto the floor.

Ryan is so excited about Sky. He won't stop talking about her and what he is going to do with her. He also is asking questions about how he should handle certain situations with her. On the drive home, I was ready to check out and just relax and he was talking a mile a minute about Sky and his day.

More tomorrow!

Day 2

The highlight of today was when Ryan used what he learned with Sky in a "real life" situation. Earlier in the day Ryan learned how to cue Sky to retrieve items dropped on the floor.

The trainers give out raffle tickets for good behavior, questions, or answers. These tickets can be redeemed at the end of training to "buy" toys or other items for your dog.

Ryan was given a ticket and in typical Ryan fashion, dropped it on the floor. Ryan first instict was to ask Mark to pick it up for him, but then decided to ask Sky to pick it up for him and she did it with flying colors! I almost burst into tears and Ryan was smiling from ear to ear because he was so proud of himself and Sky!

Ryan also practiced walking Sky with a leash. They are doing well learning this, but they both need to get used to each other.

It's also neat to see Ryan taking ownership of his dog. He's thinking ahead about different scenarios and how he is going to handle it.

First Day of Team Training

Ryan snuggling with Sky during free time.

Sky "visiting" with her boy.

What a day! The morning was spent learning clicker training and shaping a dog's behavior. Clicker training is positive reinforcement for a cue (not command!) the dog does. The key is to catch them doing the cue and then click and treat. For instance, if you cued the dog to sit, as soon as the dog's bottom hit the floor you would click and then give the dog a treat.

I will explain shaping in another post. Ryan has to pick a behavior to shape with Sky. I thought picking up his dirty laundry would be good. Ryan's not convinced.

After lunch Ryan got to meet Sky. She was so attentive to him. Constantly looking at him and staying close. She seems very mellow. Even when we took all the dogs out into the field to play she was not nearly as rambunctious as some of the dogs. She stayed by Ryan more than anything.

Ryan learned the cues: Come, Sit, Down, Stay, Leash (pick up leash and hand it to the person) and Stand. Each of these cues has a verbal and hand signal. You only do one or the other not both (I failed miserably at that!). Ryan wore a clicker and training pouch with treats in it. He would click and treat for each cue.

After a game, we went over information from the Dog Manual Bible. Ryan has to study tonight!

The bathroom.....

Ryan is still dependent on us for his toileting and bathing needs so we spend a lot of one on one time in the bathroom. We always seem to have deep conversations in there.

We were in the bathroom yesterday and Ryan commented "I think this school year is going to be much better this year with Sky. I won't have to sit on the bench at recess by myself and try to figure out what to do."

It made me smile and broke my heart all at that the same time.

Team Training.....here we come!!

I have been a bit (actually a lot!) delinquent in keeping up with Ryan's blog! It has been a roller coaster to say the least! Sky hurt her leg a few weeks before Team Training in June. She was put on crate rest for several weeks to see if she healed. The good news was her leg healed, but the bad news was Ryan missed Team Training in June.

We had Team Training scheduled in October. Less than 2 weeks ago we got a phone call that they wanted to do Training August 8-24th. We did a lot of scrambling and rearranging schedules and somehow cleared our calendars! Sal and I are doing some tag teaming, which is not ideal, but the best we could do on short notice!

Ryan calls Sky, "Sky Girl". He is excited, but also a little nervous as I think we all are! For several months, every time Ryan asked me to pick up his crutches, open the door, pick something off the floor, or retrieve something I would say to him "Where is Sky when you need her?". It's hard to believe after all these false starts she will soon be here.

We got a match!!

Ryan was matched again. She is a beautiful black lab named Sky. She is the one in the prior post walking with Ryan. She was so attentive to Ryan and very obedient. Ryan and Sky will go through Team Training in June if everything progresses with the her training as planned.

The other funny/ironic thing about Sky is that when my niece, Kristyn was planning the benefit run for Ryan's future service dog last fall, she actually opened up a bank account with Sky's puppy raiser who works at the bank! Sky was raised in the Wilkes-Barre area where Sal's family lives. What are the chances?

Ryan is excited, but a little worried that it won't work out again and June feels like a long way off for him. I'm sure it will be here quicker than we know!

Meet The Dogs Finally Happened!

Well. the weather has not been our friend as far as Meeting the Dogs goes! It was scheduled 3 times until Mother Nature finally cooperated.

Today Ryan met 5 dogs: Cabo, Star, Sky, Tundra, & Graham.

This meeting went similar to the other one in that he had the opportunity to get to greet each dog first and then he gave commands to see how they would respond. There was a much wider range of dog personalities this time around.

Ryan particularly liked the Golden Retriever, Cabo. He is your typical love able, goofy Golden. Ryan couldn't stop laughing at him. He is still in his "adolescent" stage so he's a bit more jubilant than I would want for Ryan. But, he is a Golden -so what's not to love?

There was one female black lab named Sky that was wonderful with him. She was so attentive and just seemed to know what to do with him. She even walked with Ryan while he was using his crutches which is something that is quite confusing to the dogs because they have not experienced it previously. Sky is also Journey's sister.

They plan on making a decision tomorrow evening, so hopefully we will know if he was matched with one of the dogs early next week.

Meet the Dogs - Second Time Around!

Good news today! Ryan got invited to "Meet the Dogs" next Thursday, January 27th. We are not sure which dogs he will be meeting because it depends on the dogs' "skill set". For example, some dogs are more suited to be trained to do physical work while others may be more suited for companionship/emotional comfort. For example, even though there may be 6 dogs - he may only end up meeting 2 of them.

Hopefully, second time around will be a charm! Will post more next week.