Our sweet boy Ikey now has a partner! In Ike's own words, as told to Hero Dogs...
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We've been raising service dogs since 2001. That handsome dog on the left is the very first dog we raised: Rocky. He died earlier this year, sadly. He was loved by two families: ours and the family who needed him as a service dog. It was quite a life.
We turned Ike in yesterday to Hero Dogs. He's now onto the second leg of his journey in becoming a service dog. He'll stay with Hero Dogs for another six months or so, receiving advanced training, then he'll go onto be paired with a service man or woman who needs Ike's assistance.
At each turn-in, I think a lot about the dog, naturally. I wonder if we're doing right by the dogs. They didn't sign up to become service dogs. They don't know that when we leave them at the agency, their life changes immediately. It's not like we tell them as puppies "This is just temporary. Don't get used to it. There are big changes for you, buddy."
My husband tried to console me with the thought that NO DOG chooses his home, his people, his environment. Neither do horses. Or cows. Or any animal, really. And he's right. Of course he's right. Transitions are just tough, no matter how you frame them.
It's a grand job, really, being a service dog. I think it's a much better life than the average pet dog has, to be honest. The service dog has a purpose. He's mentally stimulated every single day. He's more than loved, he's needed. He gets to go everywhere with his person. And that's pretty darn cool.
But of course, I'm a little melancholy around turn-in time. It makes me want to invent a way to communicate with Caysun so I can tell her that we've got big things planned for her. That in another year, she, too, will move on from our house (and from our dogs) to a brand new life.
But because I will fail in my quest to invent a new dog-human communication device, I will simply raise Caysun the best I can: give her lots of love, teach her to be flexible, and to enjoy change.
Ike (left) excels at flexibility. That dog is happy anywhere there are people. Or dogs. Or birds. Or wind. Or food. Or...whatever. He'll be happy wherever he lands, as long as there's a friendly hand to pet him.
We bid Ike farewell yesterday. We'll see him again - we've been invited to stop by Hero Dogs whenever we need an "Ikey fix." Which makes us feel good and soothes the sting of turn-in just a little bit.
Like every other service dog we've raised, seeing Ike with his new partner will be the medicine that will cure this melancholy. Rock on, Ikey! We'll see you soon, Boggy Doggy!
A frantic call came in on Thursday. "I need Ike tomorrow morning! We're off to NYC to be on national TV!"
National TV? Seems MSNBC wanted Hero Dogs Saturday morning for a patriotic spot. Ike was a natural choice because he can handle just about any new situation without batting an eye, and because he's got quite a few behaviors under his belt.
I crossed my fingers that he'd be a good boy on national tv. No peeing! No barking! No chomping on the interviewer's shoes!
I needn't have worried. Ike was his usual cool-dude self. He was charming. He was impressive. He was helpful. He was very cute.
And I was very proud. Clicker training rocks! (Check out that waggy tail -- that's a happy, working, reliable dog, thanks to clicker training!)
Watch Ike and his impressive service dog behaviors (and the great things Hero Dogs does, of course):
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I'm sitting in a wheelchair, Ike faithfully by my side. I cue "let's go" and Ike moves forward with me. Going straight is pretty easy for Ike, he learns quickly to keep his feet out of the way and settles at an even pace. We're at Harris Teeter grocery store, doing a training field trip and I'm in a wheelchair to help mimic Ike's future surroundings.
Here comes the hard part -- now we have to turn. It's an inside turn, which means Ike has to actually go backward just a bit to keep out of the way. His circle has to be tighter (smaller) than the wheelchair's circle. Uh-oh. We've not practiced this before.
With the clicker, all things are possible. And fast.
In only three tries, I'm communicating to Ike that moving backward is a good thing. It's a pretty complex skill, I think, for a dog to acquire. He has to go the opposite way from his handler. I've spent a year teaching him that being next to me is a really good idea.
The clicker gives Ike the information he needs: what behavior he should repeat. The precision of the click -- and the fact that Ike's been clicker trained from 8-weeks of age -- gets a behavior happening pretty darn quick.
The turn/back still needs work. A lot of it. But with the clicker, nothing's out of our reach. And it's fast. Because Ike knows the clicker, knows he can count on the clicker for information, he's ready and willing to learn. He wants to figure out this new game. He's a full and willing partner.
And did I mention he's not only smart, but pretty stinkin' cute, too? Brains and beauty... This picture's from Ike's adventure to Lake Anna, more on that in the next post.
Part of becoming a service dog involves getting used to a lot of different sights and sounds. Ike had a field trip today to our local commuter train station.
It's highly likely that in his lifetime as a service dog, Ike and his partner will need to take public transportation. It's crucial to make these experiences fun for Ike.
To that end, I brought lots of yummy treats. Not just any treats, though. I brought the really yummy and smelly stuff: feta cheese and tiny pieces of grilled pork chop (leftover from dinner a few nights ago).
Ike doesn't normally get this really delicious stuff in his everyday training. Going to WalMart isn't a big deal to him now. Going with me while I get my hair cut is old hat. The treats I use for those locations are more mundane (but still pretty tasty) because he's used to those situations.
But a train station? That's big. And potentially scary.
The grilled pork and feta cheese helped Ike create favorable associations with the potentially scary train. The noise of the station, lurching left and right on the train ride, the hustle and bustle of people, and the screeching and banging that a fast-moving train makes - any one of those could have thrown Ike into a tail spin.
The feta and grilled pork helped ensure that his train ride was a fabulous experience.
In addition to the really good food, I was careful to lower my standards for Ike. He was in a strange place. With lots of odd sounds. And almost every person there was a stranger to him. So instead of asking him for newly trained behaviors, I asked him for the very easy ones - the behaviors he's been doing since he was a pup. And he got paid BIG for each of those behaviors!
This allowed Ikey to build up his confidence, to realize he really could lie down even on the rocking and rolling train. He really could sit as the train came into the station.
If you're raising a puppy, remember to use very good food treats when you're taking your pup somewhere new. Also remember to lower your standards if you're training somewhere distracting or potentially scary. Let your dog take his time exploring and deciding when he feels comfortable. The more positive experiences your pup has, the more likely he'll become a confident, well-mannered dog.
There's a lot more training ahead for Ike. But his first introduction to the trains and buses earned an A+ today! Next time we go back, we'll likely raise his criteria slightly -- maybe I'll ask him to sit for a little longer. Or expect him to watch me a little more. And maybe he'll get the feta and grilled pork every second or third treat. But by really upping the treat value this first time, I've created a positive association with trains and with training. And that's priceless.
If you live with more than one dog, do the same rules apply to both?
I suppose in most homes, the dogs have the same rules. But in our house, different dogs have different rules.
Ike, the service pup in training, has the most rules to follow. His life is relatively structured, as he's going to have an important job - helping a disabled veteran lead a full life.
The other three dogs in the house have pretty relaxed rules. They're pet dogs, they don't have the same expectations placed on them as Ike.
That must be confusing, right? Ike's rules are different -- more strict even -- than the rest of the dogs in the house.
Not really. Ike's rules have been in place since the day he crossed the threshold. And they've never varied. They're the same every day, no matter what.
What rules are different for Ike? It would probably be easier to list what isn't different!
You get the picture: Ike's day-to-day life is different than his housemates. But this doesn't cause him any confusion. His rules never vary, they're the same every single day.
So don't be afraid to have different rules for different dogs -- but only if you're consistent enough to remember the rules and apply them to the appropriate dog(s)!
P.S. Don't think that because Ike lives with a lot of rules, he's miserable. This guy loves his rules! (As I think most dogs do, if those rules are consistent.) His life is still pretty good: He still gets to rip it up in the backyard with his housemates. He still gets lots of love and attention from us humans. He gets just as many goodies (if not more) as his doggie housemates. Heck, he gets to go out in public with me on my errands!
What do service dogs and social media have in common? Me, I love 'em both.
I attended a day-long conference on social media last week and Ike, service pup in-training, went with me.
This was the third New Media and Technology conference put on by the Frederick Chamber, and this was also the third year a service dog in-training attended.
The first two years, Talos the Great Dane was my date. 1st conference. 2nd conference (where Talos helped me present a talk on Twitter).
Public outings like this are priceless for service dogs in training. There are lots of people, different noises [microphones screeching and popping], different surfaces [carpet, shiny linoleum tiles], and lots of laying around doing nothing.
Doing nothing might sound easy, but it's pretty hard for an 8-month old dog who's never really had to do that before. It takes practice, believe it or not.
Often, trainers work the dogs in a training session, then let them go do whatever they'd like: play, sleep, hang out with us. Rarely do they need to just lay still in one spot for any length of time. We changed rooms after each session, which meant Ike had to get up, move about 100 feet to the next room, then lay back down and settle again for the next hour. After the first two sessions, Ike got the hang of it and conked out pretty quickly.
Another new experience for Ike: applause. This isn't something most dogs accept right away. Imagine for a moment that you're in a room with 100 dogs. Without warning, they all start barking, for seemingly no reason. You'd be pretty startled, right? I think that's the way dogs experience our clapping in appreciation for a good speaker.
Ike's dead-out asleep, minding his own business when, without warning, the entire room erupts into thunderous applause. It's enough to un-nerve even the calmest of dogs (which Ike definitely isn't). I'll bet it's not fun to wake up from a nap that way!
To help turn something potentially scary (and annoying) into something fun and enjoyable, I simply gave Ike a handful of treats the same time the clapping started. By the end of the day, the clapping would start, Ike would wake up, and look to me for treats. Perfect!
For you social media peeps: If you're on Twitter, search #FredNMT3 to see all the chatter that went on at the conference. Lots of good stuff if you're into social media. I'm there, just look for me @smartdogu and see if you can find out why wearing heels that day wasn't a good choice for me...
Ike is now a mature 8 months old. [Insert snicker here.] I left Ike in my closed bedroom while I took a shower. Figuring that if I limited his domain to just the bedroom, he'd be ok.
Big mistake.
Within ten minutes, Ike found my sock and did his damage.
Bad Ike? No, this one's on me. I left Ike out. I left the sock out. Together. Ike + sock = chewed sock! Elementary, my dear Watson.
Ike likes his crate. Runs to it, actually. So since the death of the sock, we've been using the crate religiously. Even if I'm just going to check the mail.
Ike is safer in the crate. So are my socks.
Ike was initiated into the "Lake Anna Labrador" club over the weekend. I took all the dogs to the lake with me when I went to visit Talos at Transfer Camp.
Before I left to visit Kathy and Talos for the day, I let all four dogs out the back door and they beelined straight for the lake, Ikey in hot pursuit of the other three. Three Labradors and one Dane/Hound mix. There wasn't a dry dog in the bunch.
Tango was first in the water, chasing a floating toy. Ike bounded in, oblivous to the fact that he'd never been in the water before. He looked positively thrilled with this new liquid!
They would've stayed in the water all day, I'm sure of it. Tango is the retriever - bringing anything out you throw in, Nemo and Ike are the chasers - all they do is chase Tango and grab onto whatever he brings out, and Lily is the fisher - she wades belly-deep looking for blue gill and bass to chase around.
I took some video and have some great shots of Ikey doing the "butt tuck" run around. It's classic crazy-Labrador footage. I'll get it up later this week.
Needless to say, I think Ike's counting the days until he sees the lake again. Typical Labrador...
