Category Archives: San Antonio

PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

Congratulations, team! Rachel and her now SERVICE DOG, “Bella”

Congratulations, team! From our wonderful trainer, Sue, who has been working with Rachel and her now SERVICE DOG, “Bella”! They passed their Public Access Test! Rachel is 7 years old and was diagnosed with PTSD this past year. Her triggers are loud noises and “knocking” sounds, where she tends to shut down and dose not communicate well in crowds. Sue worked with Rachel and Rachel’s mother, Rebecca throughout the process.

Sue writes:

Rachel and Bella are an awesome team. We started 10 March 2015 and worked within her financial means. Rebecca and Rachel were very dedicated to training. When we first started training, Bella used to be bird, dog and cat reactive and pull on a leash. Not anymore!! Bella ignores distractions like this, gets along with other dogs and cats now, and heels perfectly. Bella knows how to use the elevator and has ridden the bus. She goes with Rachel to her equine therapy sessions. Bella is still a little scared of the horses, but we keep her at a tolerable distance from them. She also walks Rachel to school. When Rebecca and Rachel go to stores, Rachel has her own special short leash that I had her pick out and Bella walks between Rachel and Rebecca. Bella walks very nicely by a grocery cart.

I still have Rebecca take Rachel and Bella on short trips to the stores and to the grocery store during low traffic times. I have them go to restaurants where they can eat quickly or have the waiter bring their food in a to-go box in case they have to do a quick exit if Rachel starts to experience severe symptoms.

I will continue doing other training with them as they can afford.

Someday, it would be nice to allow Bella to go to Rachel’s school, but that is hard to do within the school district – but we will work on that. So, right now Rachel can have Bella go with her in public and to restaurants without having panic attacks. Rebecca has a plan for restaurants and stores in case Rachel has her anxiety attacks. A family member is usually with them in case they are needed.

Rachel has had fewer meltdowns since we have trained Bella!”

Autism, San Antonio, Texas

Alexand his gentle SDIT, “Will”.

Laurie had her first session with adorable 4 year-old Alex, who has autism, and his gentle SDIT, “Will”. Alex lives with such a loving family. They have been through so much financially but they keep the faith and Alex’s mom, Brandie, makes sure that Alex gets the best OT and PT and other therapies he needs to try and develop his full potential.

The family has had Will for a while now – rescued from a shelter – and Will is very accustomed to Alex’s behaviors. Alex’s mother, Brandie, said that Alex’s meltdowns can be very severe, but Will is used to them and tries to nudge or lick him when this is happening. When I arrived, I found a very well-trained dog in Will, who could “sit”, “down”, “sit/stay”, “down/stay”, “come”, and “heel” extremely well. Alex had just woken up from a nap when I arrived, and he was such a sweet, shy child! Since this was the first time we met, I wanted it to be a positive experience, so I played hide and seek under the kitchen table with Alex, calling Will over and giving Will treats when he continued to stay. I eventually got Alex done with playing hide and seek, and said, “Let’s play hide and seek with Will!” So Alex came over, and I put Will in a sit, and I coaxed Alex to pet Will, play with his ears, say his name, and say “I love you Will”. Then Will would go to his favorite hiding place near the couch, so I brought Alex by the hand, all the while saying silly things to him about Will, and when he saw Will, I called Will and he came out. So it was like playing hide and seek with the dog! Each time I lured Will out, I clapped my hands and had Alex pet Will and say things like “Good dog, Will” and “Your my best friend, Will”. Will seemed to love the attention, and Alex was definitely engaging in interaction.

Then, Alex, Brandie, Will and I went on a short walk outside, and I held the leash and gave the end part to Alex. Will stayed in a perfect “heel”, and I showed Alex how good he was doing and we would stop, have Will sit, have Alex give Will a treat, and say “Good Will”. The walk was nice and sweet. When we got back inside, I encouraged Alex to give Will hugs, and talk to him as much as he could to praise him.

The goal is to encourage the bond between Alex and Will, and to have Alex have as much body contact with Will so that eventually, when Alex starts to go into a meltdown, he will feel more inclined with Brandie’s help to seek out Will to apply deep pressure therapy.

PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior Paul and Bobby

Laurie had her first training session with Wounded Warrior Paul, who suffers from PTSD and other disabilities. Paul had started training his GORGEOUS Standard Poodle, “Bobby”, with a trainer before, but that trainer moved. So, Bobby and Paul have a lot of the basic training skills down pat, and they are a joy to work with.

Paul, unfortunately, was working successfully with Time Warner Cable in a cubicle, but when he mentioned that he would be bringing his Service Dog to work with him once fully trained, Human Resources said that they would NOT make accommodations for his Service Dog!! Paul had many meetings with the supervisors there in Human Resources, patiently explaining his rights and the fact that having Bobby there would not cause any disruptions but would help him during difficult calls from customers – but they denied him over and over! Luckily, Paul taped these conversations and I was able to listen to them. It took everything Paul had to calm his anxiety and PTSD during these sessions – he was practicing deep breathing – and even though everything the HR people were saying was against the law, Paul kept his calm. I was so proud of him – and SO angry with Time Warner! Paul has hired a lawyer to help him sue for discrimination, which is the absolute right thing to do – and I will be happy to help him after hearing the completely uneducated and uninformed way that the HR department treated him and Service Dog rights.

Paul is no longer working for Time Warner because of this, which makes things very difficult for his budget. However, he has a wonderful attitude and a clear, smart head – I hope that he triumphs in this case, and we will continue training “Bobby” – which will undoubtedly be a breeze! They have such an amazing bond!

Anxiety, Experience, Fibromyalgia, Mobility, San Antonio, Texas

Natalie and Pearl

Laurie had her first training session with Natalie, and her yellow Labrador, “Pearl”. Natalie is barely 30, but has endured over 20 surgeries in her lifetime. She has severe Rheumatoid Arthritis, and has many other autoimmune diseases that keep her in constant pain. She has to get bi-monthly infusions that have side effects similar to chemotherapy, so she is always feeling quite ill. However, she manages to take care of her dear father, who is deaf and has the beginnings of Alzheimer’s. They live off of meager disability payments each month despite their severe illnesses, but they have a passion for stray dogs – they have six right now that have over the years just shown up at their door. They pay for the dogs and all their shots and upkeep before they pay for their own food. It’s a sad situation, but somehow, they’ve made it work so far.

Laurie writes:

I initially went over to train Natalie’s dad’s “buddy” first as a hearing dog, but they decided that Natalie needed a dog for mobility more importantly. Luckily, Pearl, who showed up at their door about 2 years ago all skin and bones, is tall and strong enough to offer that mobility.

We had our first session at PetSmart. Natalie was there with Pearl, and her father came with his pup. I could not believe how well-behaved Pearl was! They initially had her on a harness, but Pearl could still pull Natalie, who has to use a cane, walker, or wheelchair to get around do to her many leg surgeries. So, we put on the right collar for Pearl, and she began heeling perfectly! We went all through PetSmart – Pearl acted as if she had been doing this for years! Natalie had her walker, and Pearl learned to maneuver with it just perfectly. Pearl was kind and gentle with other dogs, with children (would go into an automatic “sit”), with male and female adults, and never barked once. Pearl was not distracted by any noises I created, and was not even distracted by the cats there or the birds. She can “sit”, “down”, “stay”, “heel”, “control load and unload” into and out of the car, “wait” at doors, “leave it” (although she really didn’t focus on anything but Natalie), and she was fine with me taking her for a walk, too.

I showed Natalie how to use Pearl’s shoulders to brace when Natalie was having difficulty getting up from sitting positions or sitting down. Pearl also started learning “covers”, and responded very well. I also showed Natalie how to walk with Pearl if she didn’t have access to a walker by using Pearl as a brace against her leg.

All in all, it was an incredible first session for a dog that had never done any training outside the home! The session lasted quite a while, but Natalie’s dad was very patient and just strolled around the store with his scruffy little buddy! This team will pass the Public Access Test soon. We will need to work on “sit/stay” and “down/stay” quite a bit more, as Pearl wants to be near Natalie, but I don’t think this will take long. We also practiced tying Pearl to a shopping cart and Natalie used that while I took her walker, and Pearl navigated forward and backward and around tight corners extremely well!

Anxiety, Military, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

William and SDiT Justiz

From our wonderful trainer, Beverli, who had her third session with Wounded Warrior, William, and his Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog/Beagle mix, “Justiz”. William suffers from PTSD and anxiety.

Little is known about the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog – and since I, Laurie, have one straight from Louisiana (when we ere stationed at Barksdale AFB), I’d like to take a moment to talk about this amazing breed.

The Catahoula Cur is an American dog breed named after Catahoula Parish, in the state of Louisiana, in the United States. After becoming the state dog of Louisiana in 1979, its name was officially changed to Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog. The breed is sometimes referred to as the “Catahoula Hound” or “Catahoula Leopard Hound”, although it is not a true hound, but a cur. It is also called the “Catahoula Hog Dog”, reflecting its traditional use in hunting wild boar. As a working dog, Catahoulas have been bred primarily for temperament and ability rather than for appearance. As a result, the physical characteristics of the Catahoula are somewhat varied.

Catahoulas are highly intelligent and energetic. They are assertive but not aggressive by nature. Catahoulas in general are very even-tempered. Males tend to be more stubborn than females, but Catahoulas are very serious about their job if they are working dogs. They make a good family dog, but will not tolerate being isolated, so interaction with the dog is a daily requirement. When a Catahoula is raised with children, the dog believes that it is his or her responsibility to look after and protect those children. Many owners will say that the Catahoula owns them and they can be insistent when it’s time to eat or do other activities. Catahoulas are protective and a natural alarm dog. They will alert one to anything out of the ordinary.

This tough yet strikingly beautiful dog can have a spotted, brindle, solid, or patched coat of many colors. Other outstanding physical characteristics are his webbed feet, which allow him to swim well and work in soft, marshy areas, and his eyes, which may be blue, green, brown, or amber. Some Catahoulas have eyes that are each a different color or “cracked” eyes: two different colors within the same eye.

Befitting their heritage as herding and driving dogs, Catahoulas are wary of strangers. They’re protective of their families and opinionated about who is and isn’t trustworthy. People who live with them say they’re excellent judges of character.

Expect to provide this hard-working and independent dog with at least an hour of strenuous exercise daily as well as firm guidance during training. When their exercise and leadership needs are met, Catahoulas are loving, calm, and dedicated companions.
Well, we (Laurie and Joey) have a Catahoula, and she is the goofiest, most friendly and loving dog we could imagine. She is like a clown! She is extremely energetic, however, so training does need to be started early!

OK – onto the write-up! Sorry, Beverli! Beverli writes:

“This was our third training session, and we had it at PetSmart. Today, we worked on fine tuning Justiz’ heel, as well as trying to work on sit/stay. She did much better with “leave it” today!
Today, we allowed Justiz to “cover” when she felt she needed to for William’s sake, which she naturally does, and we talked about William’s anxiety and how to work through it step by step with desensitization and having William rely on Justiz to be there for him.

Justiz still needs work on her ‘stay’, but she seemed to stay much calmer with all the smells and sounds in Petsmart, and she ignored the parakeets MUCH better on this trip!

Homework given for the next session was working more on sit/stay ON leash. Justiz is so bonded to William, she still really wants to get up and follow him as soon as he moves away from her.
I must say – I’ve never seen a dog so eagerly, tirelessly and naturally work for her handler. Justiz is SO in tune with William’s feelings and energy. She makes me realize and appreciate a dog’s abilities even more than I have before.”

What a beautiful sentiment, Beverli. Thank you.

Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, San Antonio, Texas

Ossie and Hua Hua

From our brilliant trainer, Brian, who had his first session with Ossie and his new SDIT, German Shepherd, “Hua Hua”. Ossie suffers from severe anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.

Last week Brian met with Ossie and Hua Hua at the foster’s home to introduce the two to find out about handler/team compatibility, equipment testing, rapport instruction, and the final adoption of SDIT Hua Hua!

Homework given was simply to have Ossie and Hua Hua establish rapport and bond for at least one week, with no training. Let’s hope it works out!

UPDATE: “Hua Hua was officially adopted the other day! Her new handler Ossie was in love from the minute they met, and Hua Hua was eagerly taking food and loved being caressed off the bat! Hua Hua is a bit camera shy, so it looks like I’ll be sneaking pics from my phone from now on! Picked up a crate, martingale collar, food, oatmeal shampoo and Advantix on the way home… awesome experience with two beings that deserve each other!

Fibromyalgia, Mobility, San Antonio, Texas

Natalie, and her yellow Labrador, “Pearl”

Laurie had her first training session with Natalie, and her yellow Labrador, “Pearl”. Natalie is barely 30, but has endured over 20 surgeries in her lifetime. She has severe Rheumatoid Arthritis, and has many other autoimmune diseases that keep her in constant pain. She has to get bi-monthly infusions that have side effects similar to chemotherapy, so she is always feeling quite ill. However, she manages to take care of her dear father, who is deaf and has the beginnings of Alzheimer’s. They live off of meager disability payments each month despite their severe illnesses, but they have a passion for stray dogs – they have six right now that have over the years just shown up at their door. They pay for the dogs and all their shots and upkeep before they pay for their own food. It’s a sad situation, but somehow, they’ve made it work so far.

Laurie writes:

I initially went over to train Natalie’s dad’s “buddy” first as a hearing dog, but they decided that Natalie needed a dog for mobility more importantly. Luckily, Pearl, who showed up at their door about 2 years ago all skin and bones, is tall and strong enough to offer that mobility.

We had our first session at PetSmart. Natalie was there with Pearl, and her father came with his pup. I could not believe how well-behaved Pearl was! They initially had her on a harness, but Pearl could still pull Natalie, who has to use a cane, walker, or wheelchair to get around do to her many leg surgeries. So, we put on the right collar for Pearl, and she began heeling perfectly! We went all through PetSmart – Pearl acted as if she had been doing this for years! Natalie had her walker, and Pearl learned to maneuver with it just perfectly. Pearl was kind and gentle with other dogs, with children (would go into an automatic “sit”), with male and female adults, and never barked once. Pearl was not distracted by any noises I created, and was not even distracted by the cats there or the birds. She can “sit”, “down”, “stay”, “heel”, “control load and unload” into and out of the car, “wait” at doors, “leave it” (although she really didn’t focus on anything but Natalie), and she was fine with me taking her for a walk, too.

I showed Natalie how to use Pearl’s shoulders to brace when Natalie was having difficulty getting up from sitting positions or sitting down. Pearl also started learning “covers”, and responded very well. I also showed Natalie how to walk with Pearl if she didn’t have access to a walker by using Pearl as a brace against her leg.

All in all, it was an incredible first session for a dog that had never done any training outside the home! The session lasted quite a while, but Natalie’s dad was very patient and just strolled around the store with his scruffy little buddy! This team will pass the Public Access Test soon. We will need to work on “sit/stay” and “down/stay” quite a bit more, as Pearl wants to be near Natalie, but I don’t think this will take long. We also practiced tying Pearl to a shopping cart and Natalie used that while I took her walker, and Pearl navigated forward and backward and around tight corners extremely well!

Anxiety, Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior William and SDiT Justiz

From our lovely trainer, Beverli, who had her second training session with Wounded Warrior, William, and his SDIT, Catahoula/Beagle mix, “Justiz”! William suffers from PTSD and severe anxiety.

Beverli writes:

“Today, we had our second training session at Petsmart. We worked on heeling in public amidst all the Petsmart distractions, with having Justiz keep his focus on William, as well as random “stops”, sits, and “leave it” when encountering other dogs in the store. Justiz NATURALLY covers, both in a sit, and when standing! She seems to know exactly how much pressure to put on her handler to make William feel safe. So we allowed her to do this, while talking about why she’s choosing to cover, and helping him recognize how he’s feeling.

Justiz is so in tune with William, that she has a hard time with “stay”. She just wants to be as close to him as possible, so this will need lots of extra attention when William walks away from Justiz – but overall, the reasoning is understandable.

This was our first session outside of their home, so today was about getting a baseline for Justiz’ manners and training in public.
Homework given for William and Justiz to work on was to start “fetch”, “target touch”, and “sit/stay”.

Experience, Mobility, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), San Antonio, Texas

Lauren and Decker Update

From our lovely trainer, Cherry:

“Even though gorgeous Decker has passed his Public Access Test, Lauren likes to have follow-up training sessions and advice with new situations that might pop up. Young Lauren called for me to help her for when Lauren goes to Physical Therapy. Although her mother sits with Decker during the sessions, Lauren told me he whines and makes a fuss, and it doesn’t matter that he can clearly see Lauren just feet away. So I went along to their session to see what was happening and to try and help. Immediately I could see the problem. Lauren was handing the leash to her mother and then walking away with the Physical Therapist. What she wasn’t doing was letting Decker know what to do, and assuring Decker that all was fine. So I told her to tell Decker assertively to “Down” and “Stay”, which he did immediately and sat through the entire session without a peep!

Very often things like this really are just simple fixes, and now Lauren knows that when she goes for her Physical Therapy, she must let Decker know exactly what she wants from him.”

This is why it is SO important for clients to follow up with trainers for the life of the dog, as SDE promises in our contract, as does Cherry’s rescue, “In Dog We Trust” – Service Dog training never truly ends!

Mobility, San Antonio, Seizure, Texas

Charlotte and SDIT Dakota

Oh, what a joyous session once again as Laurie had the honor to train beautiful Charlotte and her SDIT, “Dakota”!!

Laurie writes:

As you might remember, 17 year-old Charlotte suffers from seizures, migraines, and severe Ankylosing Spondilitis (arthritis in back), which she has had since the age of 11. Charlotte has extremely limited mobility in her spine due to AS. Their neurologist is still trying to find a suitable medicine to help control her seizures, increasingly limited eyesight, and severe balance issues.

Charlotte’s twin sister, equally beautiful and brilliant, developed some arthritis a little later in age, and know suffers from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardic Syndrome (POTS). It’s definitely genetic. But Charlotte’s sister’s condition is not as extremely debilitating as Charlotte’s – and it’s so beautiful to watch how much she cares about her sister. She’s a little “jealous” of SDIT “Dakota”, because she wants a Service Dog, too! But she understands that Charlotte’s needs are imminent.

I just spoke with Charlotte’s mother, and poor Charlotte is currently at Methodist Children’s Hospital where they had to try FIVE times to bend her back properly for spinal taps! Can you imagine the pain? They ended up deciding to try it again later using fluoroscopy to try and get the needed fluid. She is scheduled for a two-hour MRI of her spine tomorrow, where she has to lie perfectly still to see if they see any lesions that might indicate MS. They tried doing the MRI today, but after 30 minutes, Charlotte could not stand the pain. So, tomorrow, when they have a special anesthetist on hand, they will sedate her so she can make it through the MRI. I am asking for prayers for dear Charlotte and her mother, who is taking such amazing care of her dear daughter (their father died in an accident a few years ago). PLEASE PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!

Anyway, Thursday, we had a very long session at Walmart, because the family will be travelling to Charlotte’s mother, Amy’s birthplace in England for a few weeks. I wanted to do a quite intensive session. SDIT Dakota will also be boarding at Petsmart, with the play days and all that fun stuff – but Amy was very keen and wrote a letter to Petsmart Boarding that I had permission to come and take Dakota out for training sessions regularly so that Dakota does not regress in her training. The socialization with other dogs will be wonderful for Dakota. She is almost 8 months, but she is improving so rapidly it’s unbelievable!!

I met them in a motorized cart, because I know that at times, that will be much easier for Charlotte to use instead of her walker in stores. We practiced with me scooting along aside Charlotte and Dakota at various paces, and Dakota quickly got used to having the cart beside her. Then, of course, I had Charlotte get into the motorized cart, showed her how to tie Dakota onto the handlebars so that Dakota had enough room to properly heel and sit if needed, but not enough where she could go in front of the cart. They did superbly!!! Charlotte was such a trooper!! I made her use the horn on the cart, go backward and have her trust that Dakota would find her proper footing, and soon, they were maneuvering in and out of small and large places, around “obstacle courses”, backing up, etc.

Dakota already knows “sit”, “down”, “sit/stay”, “down/stay”, “come”, “watch me”, “controlled load and unload”, is doing automatic “covers” for Charlotte, and has adjusted to her gait very well with the walker. We did several meet and greets with male and female adults, as well as children. Because Dakota is just a happy puppy still, she has trouble maintaining a “sit” position when meeting people, because she gets so excited. But when the do go to pet her, after asking permission, Dakota just gives them kisses and lets them pet all over her.

In one of these pictures, at the very end of the session, a Vietnamese mother and 4 year-old boy asked to pet Dakota. It was SO beautiful to watch. The little boy, who speaks only Vietnamese, was able to pronounce “Dakota”, and he petted her until she actually went into a down submissive position and it was just glorious to see.

One thing I wanted to practice with Dakota was what happens when Charlotte is walking without her walker at home. She has to use furniture, the walls, countertops, etc., to steady her as she tries to get to her destination. So, what I did is I took Dakota, made sure her plastic prong and leash were held tight enough and close enough to my legs so that she was always touching my legs. I chose an area in the grocery section of Walmart and practiced walking like Charlotte walks – with an extremely unsteady gait, using displays, the refrigerator section, and anything I could “bump” into (like I was drunk), making sure that Dakota was ALWAYS touching my legs – no matter how much I stumbled or if she had to switch sides to keep pressed against me. She did this perfectly. My goal – and their homework for the next session – is to have Charlotte practice walking without the walker at home but using Dakota as a brace against her legs to help steady her.

One other technique I thought about was when we practiced the sit/stay. Now, Dakota can do this perfectly when you put her in a sit/stay and walk away facing her or even if you turn your back to her and repeat “stay”. She does this at home beautifully. However, what I wanted to do was to have Dakota get into a “sit/stay”, walk away with my hand up for a long distance, and then, I flip my hand over and lower it and go BACK to Dakota while she stays in the sit/stay.

The reason I did this (I do it with every client, but there was a special need for this for Charlotte in my mind) is because when Charlotte walks up the stairs and puts Dakota in a sit/stay while she uses the railing for bracing, Dakota stays. However, when Charlotte comes back DOWN the stairs, backward, Dakota breaks her sit/stay – and I want Dakota to be able to maintain the sit/stay when Charlotte is coming toward Dakota so that if she ever has a seizure on the stairs, or needs Dakota to be there for extra support, Dakota will remain whether Charlotte is going away from Dakota or coming to Dakota. It’s a complicated process, and we will train at home with all of this next time, but I believe it will be essential for Charlotte’s safety as Dakota becomes her mobility dog.

We did have some fun – Dakota does NOT like hula hoops, so of course, I made her come as close to it as she could by pairing it with a treat literally on the top of the hoop. We also did this with a large red bouncing ball that scared Dakota. We put the treat on the ball as we advanced it slowly toward her, and by the end of this desensitization, Dakota loved the ball and they ended up buying it!!

Well, I know this has been a long write up, but it was a long, important session. I hope to hear some definitive results about the MRI tomorrow, and when they leave for England, the only concern they will have is if Charlotte has a seizure – but these airplanes are equipped to give Charlotte room to have the seizure which her mother and sister will control – and then Charlotte falls asleep.

Again, please ask for prayers.