Laurie writes:
I had a WONDERFUL session with Elizabeth, who suffers from PTSD and anxiety, and her SDIT, Zoe! Elizabeth already takes Zoe to work with her every day, and Zoe has a wonderful little “nesting” spot with blankets and chew toys and water and everything she needs so she is happy and calm – and never leaves Elizabeth’s side. Elizabeth takes her out to the park area near her office where they take walks and potty breaks as often as needed, and they spend their lunch hour together walking or frolicking. There are deer in the park, and Zoe just wants to PLAY with them!!! The deer look at her like, “What the heck ARE you?”
Anyway, today we went to HEB. It was crowded, but not too badly. Zoe was perfect. Elizabeth still needs to work on maintaining her confidence in Zoe’s amazing abilities – but that is something that comes with time. I explained to Elizabeth that Zoe was doing exactly what she needed to do – avoiding distractions, smells, loud noises, doing perfect meet and greets, and that it was OK that Zoe often walks with her nose to the ground sniffing – she’s got quite a good nose on her! We even practiced sit/stays and down/stays in the middle of semi-busy aisles – and Zoe was great. I did the first few rounds, and Zoe stayed the length of the aisle – then as soon as I said “Come”, she scampered right to me and went into a sit. When Elizabeth tried it, I know it was a bit frustrating for her, because Zoe is SO bonded to Elizabeth that it is more difficult to understand that if Elizabeth puts her in a sit/stay and walks away facing her, repeating the word “stay” with her hand up and maintaining eye contact, that Elizabeth is not “leaving” her. But after a few intense practice sessions, Zoe started to understand that Elizabeth was just going a short distance, and she started to feel more comfortable with staying until Elizabeth told Zoe to “come”.
Even though this type of occurrence is not something that one would usually expect to happen in a public place, I explained to Elizabeth the reasoning behind the necessity of learning this behavior. If, for some reason, Elizabeth were to drop the leash accidentally in any public place – especially a busy one – and Elizabeth walked away without realizing it, it would be very important for Zoe’s safety to have Elizabeth be able to immediately turn and tell Zoe to stay, for Zoe’s safety – especially at a distance.
I also reiterated that Elizabeth should only be carrying specialized training treats that are easily accessible to her when we are doing training or when she is out with Zoe. Overall, Zoe and Elizabeth did a wonderful job. We just need to work on Elizabeth’s confidence that Zoe is doing just fine!!
Paul and his wife Dawn had told me they had done some training with Skye, but I was blown away by how much they had done! It was almost as if we were doing a practice PAT at our first session! Skye walks perfectly off-leash next to Paul as seen here in the photo, and “sits” and “stays” beautifully. Her heeling is perfect.
When I first opened the door, I was simply aghast at how strikingly beautiful this dog was. If I could handcraft a German Shepherd, it would look like Zulu! From the very beginning, Zulu was polite, responded to Jamie’s commands, made absolutely incredible eye contact, took treats gently, and already knew “sit”, “down”, “sit/stay”, “down/stay” (even when I disappeared out of sight), “heel”, “wait”, “leave it” with food, “load”, “unload” – just incredible. And Jamie herself – what an amazingly compassionate, gentle, kind, and brilliant person – who I felt like I had known for years!!!
I was astounded at how much training she had already done with Zulu. I asked her how she did it! She was so humble – and just smiled and shrugged her shoulders and said that she and her partner read the manual (an added star for her!), but had already done training with Zulu by themselves based upon their knowledge of dogs and what they had seen with the military dogs (using POSITIVE reinforcement only). Zulu, who is 18 months old, is playful yet extremely gentle with her little tiny Maltipoo brother, “Sarge”, and they get along famously. Zulu has that adorable quirk in German Shepherds with big tall ears where if you say something in high-pitched voice and tilt your head, she tilts her head along with you – then again, then again! It was adorable!! But truly, the eye contact was impeccable. I encouraged Jamie to use the “watch me” command as often as possible to reinforce this.
After I had done all these commands with Zulu on our first meeting, then Jamie demonstrated the ability to do exactly the same – except, of course, the stays were a bit more difficult because Zulu has an amazing bond with Jamie, and doesn’t like it when she disappears around the corner!! After the session, we went into the backyard, and Zulu amazed me AGAIN! Jamie can throw the ball, tell Zulu to “get it”, Zulu runs like wildfire, Jamie says “bring it”, then with “give it”, Zulu will either drop it right at her feet, or we worked on having Zulu gently put it in Jamie’s hands. Jamie will continue to work on this because with her severe back pain, it will be beneficial for Zulu to be able to retrieve items. We will continue to work on that with different household items.
At our second session, we met at Petsmart. Zulu performed perfect heels with the prong collar held upright in just the perfect direction and fit. I tried many different types of distractions walking behind Zulu and dropping items, and Zulu did not break her heel. We navigated through aisles using the words “left” and “right”. There weren’t many dogs there at the time, but the ones that were there, we asked if Zulu could meet, and whatever breed or size they were, Zulu did a loving, appropriate “sniffing” how-do-you-do, and all dogs reacted positively to her. We did several meet and greets, and Zulu had a bit of difficulty staying in the “sit” position because she wanted to approach the child or adult, so we will work on that. We did meet and talk with a Vietnam Veteran who was in a motorized wheelchair, and he just loved Zulu. We gave him treats to put in his hands, and it was a bit awkward for him because of his arthritis, but he was absolutely willing and excited and Zulu was gentle taking the treats, and then let the man pet her as we stood and talked with him for about 10 minutes. Zulu was patient, eventually just lying down while we finished our conversation. That is important for a Service Dog.
Next, we will meet at Walmart at 6 pm when it is busy! And I forgot to mention – Zulu already naturally responds to Jamie when her anxiety levels are high or she is in pain by going to her and applying pressure or just snuggling to comfort her. These two will be ready to pass the PAT in no time!!
“Cadence had been trained through Service Dog Express over a year ago for an autistic child, but the family had too many issues going on, and decided that their daughter did not need a Service Dog. Laurie trained with them for quite a long time, and Cadence (formerly named Amy), was an absolutely PERFECT Service Dog for this young girl. Cadence passed the ADI Public Access Test (PAT) flawlessly, and Laurie was absolutely amazed by Cadence’s ability to handle the autistic young girl’s behavior. Poor Cadence had to leave the family she had served for so long, but it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
So the WONDERFUL news is that Cadence quickly found the perfect match with Jason on December 5, 2014. He had always wanted a Boxer, and their connection was immediate. His daughter picked her new name, changing it from “Amy” to “Cadence”. But because Jason was in residence at an Audie Murphy Transitional Rehabilitation facility, he was unable to keep her with him in house. Thus, she was welcomed into my home until such time as Jason was able to take her full time.
While Cadence had demonstrated all the line item behaviors and skills of the PAT during her training sessions and visits, we ran her through the test just one more time at the Shops at La Cantera and Bass Pro Shop, in San Antonio, on a busy Sunday afternoon. Despite even only having sporadic time with Jason over the past two months, Cadence and Jason still passed the PAT with flying colors. At La Cantera, we took a long walk through the mall, and that day was the very first time Cadence experienced a walker. She is hyper-vigilant watching out for Jason, which is truly amazing and reassuring for Jason.
ext we went to Bass Pro Shop, which was equally as mobbed as La Cantera. The glass elevator fascinated her… Cadence looked out over the store and her head twitched back and forth. The monkeys and other stuffed game animals were of no interest to her! Usually, the dogs Laurie has taken past these stuffed creatures completely freaks the SDIT’s out – so she always had to do careful desensitization with them but not Cadence! In the pictures, she demonstrates her “Watch My Six” move, facing backward to watch behind Jason. That is an amazing task, and adds extra security to Jason while out in public. Cadence performed “stay there” for a girl and worker at Bass Pro to greet and pet her. Then, Cadence performs a “Cover” in front of the walker. She is such a natural!
While Jason is using a walker now, previously he had been non-weight bearing and wheelchair-bound. Also, we took several outings to the grocery store, fast food places, and nice restaurants. It is amazing how comfortable Cadence is in public.”
“Elizabeth, Zoe and I completed this training session, which was Zoe’s first public visit in a regular store. Elizabeth did a wonderful job redirecting Zoe from all of the distractions and people at Walmart. I worked with Elizabeth to help her recognize Zoe’s nonverbal signals to her, and to anticipate possible obstacles to Zoe’s success in public (ie: needing bathroom breaks, shorter sessions in public). After a short break, Elizabeth and Zoe practiced heeling in the Lawn and Garden section with an automatic “stop-sit” at the end of every aisle. Zoe caught on very quickly, and responded beautifully to Elizabeth’s verbal and nonverbal commands! They have a wonderful bond already!”
I had my first session with Esteban to find him the right dog to begin his Service Dog journey. He requested meeting SDIT Tango from our Assessed Dogs section, and they bonded extremely well right off the bat! Tango seemed to take to his new home and new “dad” almost right away! My mother, Service Dog Express trainer Beverly, trained Esteban’s roommate’s Ser
In November 2014 I was given the information for an agency called Service Dog Express. After speaking with the CEO and founder, 
She really is the best medicine. On the days that I cannot find my way around or home, she guides me there and sits with me until the feeling of disorientation has subsided.