N slept through the night and this morning went really well. Before we left the hotel I took her for a walk around the premises. N decided to test me this morning while I was toileting her. The command for the dog to toilet itself is HURRY. As we are walked along, she peed a few times but hadn't pooped yet. So I tried to extend the walk a little. N waited until we got to the front of the hotel, where 2 hotel managers were standing and watching. She proceeded to crawl under an oleander and pooped. Soooo guess what I had to do? Tell her she did a good job (for pooping) and than crawl under the oleander to pick it up!!!
Our second adventure of the day was taking our first field trip. We brought the dogs out to Fresh Choice for lunch. This was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. She followed all commands and did not fall for any of the distractions. After we walked around the buffet and we were heading for the tables there was a 5 year old boy that was just beside him self. He was standing in the middle of the walk way, waving his hands around and saying really loudly to his parents "look at all of these dogs, mom dogs!!!!" He was very excited and for a second I thought our instructors planted a distraction for us to see how we would do, although they swear they didn't. N was great though, she didn't fall for any of the distraction and did exactly as she was told. She was given A LOT of praise when we got back to campus.
By the end of today everyone was exhausted. By everyone I mean dogs, handlers and instructors. It was a hot day and everyone is exhausted both physically and emotionally. They have successfully trained me with 30 commands. Hurry, Sit, Down, Heel, Side, Stay, Fetch, Lap, Retrieve, Car, Get, Give, Hold, Jump, Kennel, Let’s Go, Name, No/Don’t, Off, Ok, Out, Wait, Push, Release, Roll, Speak (can’t do this one), Stand, Stay, Under, and Fix It. N knows about 10-15 more and we will learn these over the next couple days while practicing for the public access test. Plus trying to master the first 30. So much to learn. Anyways the instructors let us go a little early which was very nice of them. I took N back to the hotel and we took a much needed 2 hour nap together.
Tomorrow will be our big trip to Target where we get to shop or do a scavenger hunt with our dogs. I am sure I will have lots of fun stories tomorrow. Final placements will be made tomorrow as well. This means that I will know which dog is ours by the end of tomorrow and I can release her name once the puppy raisers have been called.
Time to go do homework and get ready for tomorrows day of doggy training. I hope everyone has a great weekend and pictures will be coming soon.
Hello and welcome to the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital doggy tales blog. Nilani and I encourage you to follow along and please feel free to leave comments. To do so, click on the link at the bottom of the message that says (#) C O M M E N T S. We would love to hear from you.
"The participant is a faculty member at UCSF. However, the views and opinions of the participant expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Regents of the University of California, UCSF, UCSF Medical Center, or any entities or units thereof."
"The participant is a faculty member at UCSF. However, the views and opinions of the participant expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Regents of the University of California, UCSF, UCSF Medical Center, or any entities or units thereof."
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Day #3 and #4
Well day 3 and 4 have come and gone. I have been given my pre-placement and (s)he is perfect. (S)he was in my top three choices and after working with it for the past 2 days I know (s)he is a great choice. I am going to call our dog N for now.
Today we had our first test brining the dogs to lunch with us. N did great!! N is not easily distracted by food on the floor, (s)he didn’t even try to jump, sniff or lick. At one point I bent down to help another lady pick up the food she dropped and had my plate right in front of the dog and (s)he looked the other way. That could have been very bad! Today’s lunch was a test for tomorrow. Tomorrow is our first field trip. We are all going to bring our dogs to a restaurant. Oh I am a little nervous, but I know we will do great. There was one dog today at lunch that was having such a hard time. He was sniffing, whining, trying to put his nose on the table and trying to eat food off the floor. I am so glad that is not our dog!
Today we also practiced grooming the dogs and N loved being brushed. (S)he went straight on to her/his back. (S)he was squirming all over the place trying to make sure I got its tummy and back. We learned that the grooming of the dog is so important! Both for physical and psychological reasons. We will have a very well groomed dog! The funniest part of the grooming was brushing the dogs teeth. This has to be done daily. The dog got so excited and was trying to eat the tooth brush. Human tooth paste is mint flavored. Guess what flavor the dog’s toothpaste is……..Meat flavored!!! There breath doesn’t necessarily smell the best but the dogs love it, they go nuts!!!! While you are brushing they are trying to lick and eat the brush. Very funny.
N has a great will power and if (s)he is in a command (s)he will not run after her/his toys until put on a release command. (S)he is very playful, the second you start to pet N (s)he rolls on to her/his back for you to scratch it’s tummy. N will do great with the kids. There are maybe 5 or 6 children here and they have come over and sat with us and (s)he doesn’t mind at all.
Tonight was our first night back at the hotel and we played a little. Afterwards N jumped onto the bed and cuddled with me for a while. N even fell asleep IN my lap. I hated having to wake N up to put her/him back in the kennel. It is one of CCI’s rules though, “until we bring the dog to our house the dog must sleep in the kennel.” I think this is just incase they do not think the pre-placement is working out.
I can not wait to share pictures of the dog. I can share a few tips about OUR dog…
•(S)he is beautiful and my new best friend
•(S)he is very hairy. I will never be able to wear black again unless I buy a lifetime supply of lint brushes!
•(S)he is a snorer
•Loves to have it’s teeth brushed
That is all I can share for now. It is time for me to go to bed. I have to wake up early enough now to get myself AND a dog ready for school/work.
Thanks for reading and your continued support.
Today we had our first test brining the dogs to lunch with us. N did great!! N is not easily distracted by food on the floor, (s)he didn’t even try to jump, sniff or lick. At one point I bent down to help another lady pick up the food she dropped and had my plate right in front of the dog and (s)he looked the other way. That could have been very bad! Today’s lunch was a test for tomorrow. Tomorrow is our first field trip. We are all going to bring our dogs to a restaurant. Oh I am a little nervous, but I know we will do great. There was one dog today at lunch that was having such a hard time. He was sniffing, whining, trying to put his nose on the table and trying to eat food off the floor. I am so glad that is not our dog!
Today we also practiced grooming the dogs and N loved being brushed. (S)he went straight on to her/his back. (S)he was squirming all over the place trying to make sure I got its tummy and back. We learned that the grooming of the dog is so important! Both for physical and psychological reasons. We will have a very well groomed dog! The funniest part of the grooming was brushing the dogs teeth. This has to be done daily. The dog got so excited and was trying to eat the tooth brush. Human tooth paste is mint flavored. Guess what flavor the dog’s toothpaste is……..Meat flavored!!! There breath doesn’t necessarily smell the best but the dogs love it, they go nuts!!!! While you are brushing they are trying to lick and eat the brush. Very funny.
N has a great will power and if (s)he is in a command (s)he will not run after her/his toys until put on a release command. (S)he is very playful, the second you start to pet N (s)he rolls on to her/his back for you to scratch it’s tummy. N will do great with the kids. There are maybe 5 or 6 children here and they have come over and sat with us and (s)he doesn’t mind at all.
Tonight was our first night back at the hotel and we played a little. Afterwards N jumped onto the bed and cuddled with me for a while. N even fell asleep IN my lap. I hated having to wake N up to put her/him back in the kennel. It is one of CCI’s rules though, “until we bring the dog to our house the dog must sleep in the kennel.” I think this is just incase they do not think the pre-placement is working out.
I can not wait to share pictures of the dog. I can share a few tips about OUR dog…
•(S)he is beautiful and my new best friend
•(S)he is very hairy. I will never be able to wear black again unless I buy a lifetime supply of lint brushes!
•(S)he is a snorer
•Loves to have it’s teeth brushed
That is all I can share for now. It is time for me to go to bed. I have to wake up early enough now to get myself AND a dog ready for school/work.
Thanks for reading and your continued support.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Day #2
The people in these classes with me are remarkable. They are all here for different reasons and they are all so strong. Some are mothers of kids with autism or kids with physical handicaps, adults with physical handicaps and some that want to use the dog both as a service and facility dog. Hearing everyone’s stories and listening to what they go through on a daily basis is an honor and leaves me in awe. Watching some of them interact with dogs just brings tears to your eyes and leaves you with goose bumps. This is a life changing experience and I am so thankful to CCI for allowing me to be apart of it.
By the end of today I have trained with 9 dogs in total. We can call the dogs B1, B2, C, D, K1, K2, N, R and T. These letters are the first letter of the dogs name and it gives nothing away. Each litter of puppies is given a letter of the alphabet and each puppy must be given a name that starts with that letter.
•B2, C, K1, and R did not connect with me like the other dogs did. They were distracted too easily and/or didn’t like to be pet.
•B1 and K2 seemed to do well with me and listened to my commands while responding quickly to my corrections. One of these dogs has a difficult time jumping up into its kennel, which was a little worry some. I liked these dogs and they were adorable but I think other dogs worked better with me.
•D (small, adorable and has a young look about it), N (medium build and playful) and T (quite large with a wise look about it) all seemed to really take to me. They all listened to commands, paid no attention to the distraction that was around us and rarely had to be corrected. I would have no worries about getting any of these three dogs.
Before we finished class we had mini conferences with the instructors to talk about our individual needs of our dog. This is really important because, as I said above, one of the dogs did not like the physical affection/praise and another dog had difficulty jumping into its kennel. These are important because if the dog is going to be in the playroom the dog may get lots of physical affection and it needs to be okay with lots of hands on it. If the dog is going to be getting up on beds it would be beneficial to have them jump up/down. Otherwise I will have to lift the dog, oh imagine the back problems.
Tomorrow morning we will be given our pre-placement dog but they said that they may change the dog out throughout the training if they decide that the dog isn’t working (rare but it happens). I do have a favorite but I know the instructors have our best interest in mind. They said I may even get a dog that I haven’t worked with yet, so we shall see. I am extremely excited to see what tomorrow has to bring.
Tomorrow the instructors want us to step our game up with motivators, commands and energy… with that being said it is time for me to go to bed. I didn’t sleep well last night and we have a big day ahead of us. So good night everyone!!! More exciting news about the dogs tomorrow…
Thanks for reading!!!
By the end of today I have trained with 9 dogs in total. We can call the dogs B1, B2, C, D, K1, K2, N, R and T. These letters are the first letter of the dogs name and it gives nothing away. Each litter of puppies is given a letter of the alphabet and each puppy must be given a name that starts with that letter.
•B2, C, K1, and R did not connect with me like the other dogs did. They were distracted too easily and/or didn’t like to be pet.
•B1 and K2 seemed to do well with me and listened to my commands while responding quickly to my corrections. One of these dogs has a difficult time jumping up into its kennel, which was a little worry some. I liked these dogs and they were adorable but I think other dogs worked better with me.
•D (small, adorable and has a young look about it), N (medium build and playful) and T (quite large with a wise look about it) all seemed to really take to me. They all listened to commands, paid no attention to the distraction that was around us and rarely had to be corrected. I would have no worries about getting any of these three dogs.
Before we finished class we had mini conferences with the instructors to talk about our individual needs of our dog. This is really important because, as I said above, one of the dogs did not like the physical affection/praise and another dog had difficulty jumping into its kennel. These are important because if the dog is going to be in the playroom the dog may get lots of physical affection and it needs to be okay with lots of hands on it. If the dog is going to be getting up on beds it would be beneficial to have them jump up/down. Otherwise I will have to lift the dog, oh imagine the back problems.
Tomorrow morning we will be given our pre-placement dog but they said that they may change the dog out throughout the training if they decide that the dog isn’t working (rare but it happens). I do have a favorite but I know the instructors have our best interest in mind. They said I may even get a dog that I haven’t worked with yet, so we shall see. I am extremely excited to see what tomorrow has to bring.
Tomorrow the instructors want us to step our game up with motivators, commands and energy… with that being said it is time for me to go to bed. I didn’t sleep well last night and we have a big day ahead of us. So good night everyone!!! More exciting news about the dogs tomorrow…
Thanks for reading!!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Day #1
Wow DAY #1 was… quite a learning process. It was a mix of emotionsbut mainly excitement and nervousness.
We have 25 dogs and 26 people (15 people receiving dogs & 11 that are helpers). 2 of us are here for Facility Dogs and the rest will be receiving skilled companion and service dogs. The people are divided into two groups and most of the people have a family member or 2 or in some cases even up to 4.
My group consists of 6 people and 2 helpers. Today we started with 3 lectures and than moved on to practicing on a carpet dog. We broke for lunch and I had a visit from Carol (a member of the board and a friend of UCSF) and that helped ease my nerves a bit. So thank you Carol. After lunch they felt like we were ready to start with the real dogs. Today we met nine of them. They are all so cute, it is tough to not have favorites. It was also hard to get up in front of a group, try to handle a dog and than be told in front of everyone what you are doing wrong. I understand the reason for it and I am learning a lot, just a lesson in humility. It is amazing to watch the dogs respond to people. Some would respond and listen to me, while others wouldn’t. It is all about confidence and leadership. I just have to remember to breathe.
On Wednesday, they will decide which dog is ours and on Thursday night the dog spends the night in the hotel with me. I am so EXCITED. I have been told that I can not leak out the name of our dog until Saturday BUT I can tell you that we are getting a Labrador. There is only one golden retriever and it is already promised to someone. The dogs all range in size and color. Some of them are even the size of a small horse and hat is NO exaggeration. I can’t wait to be able to share pictures.
Well I have to go do my homework, yes that is right I have homework. Thank you everyone for your comments and support. I will write again soon.
We have 25 dogs and 26 people (15 people receiving dogs & 11 that are helpers). 2 of us are here for Facility Dogs and the rest will be receiving skilled companion and service dogs. The people are divided into two groups and most of the people have a family member or 2 or in some cases even up to 4.
My group consists of 6 people and 2 helpers. Today we started with 3 lectures and than moved on to practicing on a carpet dog. We broke for lunch and I had a visit from Carol (a member of the board and a friend of UCSF) and that helped ease my nerves a bit. So thank you Carol. After lunch they felt like we were ready to start with the real dogs. Today we met nine of them. They are all so cute, it is tough to not have favorites. It was also hard to get up in front of a group, try to handle a dog and than be told in front of everyone what you are doing wrong. I understand the reason for it and I am learning a lot, just a lesson in humility. It is amazing to watch the dogs respond to people. Some would respond and listen to me, while others wouldn’t. It is all about confidence and leadership. I just have to remember to breathe.
On Wednesday, they will decide which dog is ours and on Thursday night the dog spends the night in the hotel with me. I am so EXCITED. I have been told that I can not leak out the name of our dog until Saturday BUT I can tell you that we are getting a Labrador. There is only one golden retriever and it is already promised to someone. The dogs all range in size and color. Some of them are even the size of a small horse and hat is NO exaggeration. I can’t wait to be able to share pictures.
Well I have to go do my homework, yes that is right I have homework. Thank you everyone for your comments and support. I will write again soon.
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