Military, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Yolanda and SDiT Dante

A write-up from our trainer, Beverly, who is working with Wounded Warrior, Yolanda.

“While Yolanda was having and recovering from major surgery she sent Dante to a local trainer to stay for 2 weeks. Dante was PERFECT in the store and his handsome good looks got a lot of attention. We reviewed all aspects of the PAT and discussed restaurant behaviors. Although she practices at home, Yolanda didn’t want to take Dante out to a restaurant as she did not want the hassle of people giving her a hard time. I gave her several of the ADA law cards and SDE business cards and discussed with her what to say to defuse difficult situations and what to do if a business refused her service.

Next session will be the PAT as Dante is a very well-behaved, stately SD who is highly bonded to Yolanda. She also states he already wakes her from nightmares, detects her migraines when they are coming on and appropriately responds to her anxiety by nudging and distracting her. Dante is AWESOME!

WONDERFUL JOB, YOLANDA, DANTE, AND BEVERLY!

Anxiety, Dallas-Fort Worth, Psychiatric, PTSD, Texas

Marcus and SDiT Duke

From our trainer Candace, in Fort Worth. She is working with 7 1/2 year-old Marcus, who suffers from PTSD, night terrors, and extreme anxiety at such a young age. Heather, Marcus’s mother, says that Duke is such a good friend for Marcus son, Marcus. Heather says that Marcus, who was adopted at age 4 1/2, is a bright, compassionate, energetic young man who is being limited by the ghosts of his past. She loves him so much, citing that “I am in awe at the resilience he shows in just getting up and facing the day every morning. He always asks for me to stay with him at night and he says he wishes his dog (an adopted chiweenie) was bigger and could watch over him at night.” What a beautifully supportive family dear Marcus has!

“Marcus’ family is doing a wonderful job with their son’s SDiT, “Duke”. Duke miraculously keeps up with young Marcus, as he is so active and upbeat! We worked on proper leash walking. Heather did most of the walking, showing Marcus how to go about properly himself. Marcus is doing a great job as well, minding his mother and doing his best to work with Duke. We also played a game where Marcus hid under his covers and Duke jumped up to find him. This will help when Marcus has his nightmares and Duke needs to comfort him. Other than that, the family is working on basic training like “come,” “stay,” and “leave it.” Duke is doing very well, and picking up on things quickly. The challenge will be to transfer those training skills over to Marcus and having Duke mind him. This will take time, patience and consistency on the Wilson’s part, especially for Heather. So far, she is remarkable. Keep up the great work!”

REMARKABLE, INDEED. WE ALL LOVE YOU, DEAR MARCUS!!!!

Military, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Prayers for SD Ivan

PLEASE say prayers – many prayers – for one of our dearest clients, Wounded Warrior Daniel, and his SD, pit Ivan. Ivan had stopped eating and was acting lethargic, and obviously losing weight. The first veterinarian Daniel took Ivan to just gave him some medicine and said he’d be fine. Well, that was about a month ago. Today, I talked to Daniel and told him to go to St. Francis of Assisi Veterinary Medical Center on Potranco where I advise all of our clients to go if they can get there. Ivan had lost 9 pounds, and they detected a heart murmur and an enlarged heart. Ivan goes back on Monday for an EKG and more testing. This is very, very hard on Daniel, whose stress exacerbates his symptoms very much, and he has difficulty comprehending certain things do to his TBI. Ivan and Daniel are literally inseparable – they do EVERYTHING together. I am going to call the doctor tomorrow to hear the report from him, as Daniel was too upset to comprehend all that was going on. We need to pray because Daniel needs and loves Ivan with all his heart. I will let you all know as things progress. I DO know that Ivan is in the best hands as far as veterinary care.

Anxiety, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Tourette's Syndrome

11 year-old Trenton and his Priddy SDiT

From trainer Candace, in Fort Worth, who is training with 11 year-old Trenton, who suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome and anxiety, and his SDIT, “Priddy”. Trenton’s mother, Jennifer, is very vigilant about training and is very dedicated to the process.

“Trenton’s SDiT, Priddy, is doing incredibly well! We spent an hour going over mock Public Access Test scenarios at a local mall. Priddy is getting great at everything. We went through each command, working a few times through scenarios and talking about any potential “hiccups” and how to handle them. Jennifer wanted a better understanding of what exactly to work on for the test. Their goal is to have Priddy certified by the beginning of October. She is doing great with her young handler, Trenton. He is doing well controlling her, with some verbal cuing from Jennifer. Overall, they are in great shape for the PAT. Go Goodpaster family!”

Dallas-Fort Worth, Equipment, Mobility, Muscular Dystrophy, Texas

Vedant’s SDiT Simba

From our trainer, Candace, in Ft. Worth. She has been juggling an internship while training, so she apologizes that there are not more pictures. But we congratulate her on passing her internship!

“Simba, the Singhania family’s son Vedant’s SDiT, (Vedant has Muscular Dystrophy) has been on a little bit of a training vacation. But, he is doing wonderfully! Today, the family worked on retrievals! We practiced with one of Vedant’s socks, so that Simba can get used to bringing back things that smell like him. I showed them how to turn the command into a game, and their SDiT just had a ball (or sock!) We also addressed his digging behavior, which he has just picked up. It seems that it might be an anxiety issue when he digs. Also, it seems that the family were accidentally reinforcing that behavior by engaging him in a game of chase once they caught him digging. We are still working on this.

Vedant got a new electric scooter, so we practiced walking Simba with the scooter. He wasn’t scared, nor did he bark at it! They need to practice walking with Simba and the scooter outside, but it was too hot at the time I was there to do this. Simba is a dark dog and just doesn’t like the sun so much. He has quite a personality! There was a lot of review that happened to go over his basic and advanced training techniques. Simba is still so young and has come such a long way. He will be a great companion for young Vedant. The Singhania family is doing great with him!”

Austin, Military, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Vietnam Veteran Travis and SDiT Sergeant

From our trainer, Andrew, who is working with Vietnam Veteran Travis, and his SDIT, Sergeant:

“On Sept 23rd, I had my first initial session with Travis and his SDIT, Sergeant. Sergeant is a tri-colored collie and is very smart. He has lots of food drive, but also likes to play with a tug. I worked some with a sit/down and sit/stay and the dog did as expected for being so raw and only just over two years old.

At our second training session, Sergeant proved to still be a very exuberant dog and is a very quick learner. We worked on basic obedience – mainly sit/down stays. I had an extended talk with Travis about training his dog: that sit means sit and down means down. I instructed Travis about leading the dog up to being able to stay in whatever position Travis commands even if he leaves the room. We talked a little about rewards as well and the pros and con’s of using praise rewards and food rewards… I only took one picture and here is the beautiful dog below in a down stay!”

Austin, Mobility, Pain Management, Texas

Daveed and his SDIT Redmond

From our trainer, Andrew, who is working hard with 19 year-old Daveed, who suffers from mobility and other medical issues due to a rare disease called Polyarteritis Nodosa, and his SDIT, Redmond!

“On Monday, Sept 22nd, I had a training session with Daveed and his SDIT, Redmond. We worked on reinforcing the down/ sit stay, we worked on reinforcing a sit when Daveed stops walking, and while waiting for Daveed to climb the stairs. And I also introduced the first “find your spot” game to Daveed and Redmond, which is the act of the dog finding his designated spot in whatever room they may be in… They enjoyed it, we had a good session, and they are making considerable progress!”

SO PROUD OF YOU, DAVEED AND REDMOND!!

 

Military, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Amber and SDIT Brinn

From our trainer, Andrew, who is working with Wounded Warrior, Amber, and her SDIT, Brinn!

“On Monday, September 22nd, I had my first session with Amber where we mainly talked about the capabilities of her SDIT, what she has already worked on, and what she would like to see from her Service Dog. Brinn already knows a plethora of commands as Amber has been working with her daily for the month that she has had her. She knows basic obedience, come, wait, leave it, load, unload, cover…etc. What she needs is reinforcement. So we went over that.

Brinn does have a problem pulling on the leash when she has a normal nylon collar on so I showed Amber a technique for loose leash walking. Amber has begun working with Brinn on it already. They are also fostering a dog originally named Wendy and together they both are not good at focusing on the commands as, they want to play instead of listen. Wendy is more trained than Brinn is and responds better than Brinn to the commands when she is alone with a handler. We discussed working with them and scheduling times to teach the stricter commands.

All in all we had a good session! I was only needed to instruct them on reinforcement of the commands that Amber has already been working hard to teach Brinn, and we will continue to do so in future sessions… I did not take pics this the my phone died so my camera was not available…”

GREAT WORK AMBER AND BRINN!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK, ANDREW!

Anxiety, Austin, General, Medical Alert, Panic Attack, Psychiatric, PTSD, Texas

HAGGER THE HUMUNGOUS HAS PASSED!!!!

From our trainer in Austin! HAGGER THE HUMUNGOUS HAS PASSED!!!!

“I am happy to announce that Lee and Hagger have passed the Public Access Test! We met at Walmart this morning and took a nice stroll with Hagger heeling beside Lee the whole time. Lee took Hagger through some tight quarters and narrow turns and Hagger fit right in!

Hagger does sits and downs on commands just once. He has great stays as well with a shopping cart going by him!

We headed to Subway to eat and settle while Lee and I talked for a bit, Hagger made himself at home on the floor!

Lee has worked and trained Hagger TIRELESSLY to get him ready and he has been more than successful!

I am so happy for those two!”

LEE AND HAGGER, EVERYONE AT SERVICE DOG EXPRESS IS SO, SO VERY PROUD AND INSPIRED BY YOU BOTH – YOUR DETERMINATION, YOUR COURAGE, AND YOUR DEDICATION. THE WORLD IS TRULY BLESSED TO HAVE YOU BOTH IN IT! AND TO OUR TRAINER – WONDERFUL JOB!!!