When you live day to day with young children, especially a child with special needs, just getting through the day can often be daunting.  Unless you are especially good at paying attention or you’ve instituted specific (usually with professional help) interventions, recognizing significant changes in your child is hard. When your contact is less regular and you are the professional help, and especially if you pay attention, the transformations can be downright magical.

So it has been with Sam and Bubbles. I have written often of this experience in this blog, but here, in honor of Earth Day 2012, is a snapshot to look at my experience with Sammy and Bubbles.

LABOR DAY 2011 BEFORE

When Bubbles and I first met Sammy — in the fenced in backyard of his home September 5, 2011 – Labor Day–his initial reaction to Bubbles was  horror. If he could have climbed inside his mother’s head, he would have. Sammy’s family had indicated a few issues they thought a service dog might address. First and foremost was safety  — Sam regularly bolted away without regard for his safety. His language was poor, he made limited eye contact, his smiles seemed to be generated by something going on internally, not in response to the environment around him. He was prone to hitting people, especially if those people happened to put together the letters N and O into the word “No”. Like a wild child, he clambered all over the furniture, pulling down and often breaking anything in his reach. Going out in public he bolted at any opportunity and struggled when held. Already 5, he was fast on his feet, aware when anyone let down his guard. He was getting too big to carry. Tantrums were common.

The strain on the family was obvious. He was unable to use a public restroom and his family kept a potty in the van when they did go on outings. Sammy, an only child, had no social relations with any children. After school and on weekends he was often isolated in his fenced in backyard playing in mud, sand, and dirt in his own little universe. He was starting to explore ways to escape the yard.

In school, which was very structured and consistent, Sammy reportedly did very well but was rigid. When the order or structure deviated, he had trouble and outbursts.

My goal was to place a well-raised and much-loved dog into the family home and to create an action plan for helping Sam and his family. We we worked together both at home and in public. We went together on outings once or twice a week, and my work with them included group dog training classes, home visits, indoor swimming pools, shopping malls, doctor appointments, sledding, The Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame (my gosh, the escalators!), holiday events and parties, the Natural History Museum and towards the end of our 6 month contract, horseback riding therapy outings.

(Many of the adventures included my youngest daughter, Sophie. Her role and relationship with Sammy was the unforeseen icing on the cake. The two bonded immediately and deeply. For her 13th birthday Sammy painted her a portrait of the two of them that is cherished.)

Sam's painting for Sophie

EARTH DAY 2012 AFTER

One Year Earlier

Yesterday Sammy and his father brought Bubbles to an Earth Day DIP (Drop in Play) in my fenced in backyard.

Bubbles was happy to visit the old homestead and got right into playing with her old dog friends and a new one. I had to let Sammy know Sophie wasn’t around. In the past, that would have led to multiple queries of “Where’d Sophie go?” and possibly a tantrum. In the past he sometimes bolted into my house or car or, when possible, escaped out of the fenced in yard. Initially Sophie or I would wrangle him and eventually I directed the responsible adult (his parents or aunt)  to do so. Yesterday he redirected calmly and thoughtfully and didn’t bolt. He and Bubbles played together on the playground structure in my yard and he was calm and content as the dogs played about.

His language skills have vastly improved and he was sweet and cooperative. My other clients and their dog left and only Sammy and his father and my dogs and Bubbles remained. Dad told Sammy it was time to go and he calmly cooperated. I said goodbye and then heard a bit of a struggle at the car. I guessed Sammy needed to go potty and sure enough, back they came. I offered to take him inside myself and into the bathroom we went. Sammy politely took off his coat, sat on the toilet and grinned with relief. He flushed, pulled up his pants, washed his hands with soap and water, dried his hands, put on his coat, and said a few times that he couldn’t go further into the house this time, which I agreed with. He walked back outside with total cooperation.

I admit, I was gobsmacked by the immense change I saw in Sammy.

To those parents whose children are cooperative and not flight risks, those who have friendships and play nicely and don’t hit and are able to share toys and are fun out in public, those who don’t have issues using public restrooms and are gentle and sweet and use language appropriately, Sammy’s behavior may not seem so utterly cool. But to anyone dealing with hitting, kicking screaming, crying tantrums, struggles in public and at home, this amazing change will strike you as it did me.

And the coolest part? This is only the beginning because I know these two young energetic blondes have so many life altering adventures ahead.

Want to learn missing details about Har-Vest AND get a great special good through April 30, 2012? Listen to Episode 4  of my interview with host Ken Jones of PET TECH RADIO and get a rare and generous FREE GIFT with your purchase. Or listen right here!

Today’s outing with Bubbles involved a new species of animal — for Sam and for Bubbles! We decided to try an evaluative session on horseback to see if Sam could benefit from equine therapy. Many researchers have noted that often, when autistic children are first introduced to hippotherapy, the new environment may prompt crying, screaming, tantrums, and avoidance behaviors such as flopping down and becoming limp. For our Sam, there’s also risk of flight.

Sam and his mother were first to arrive at the stables, since I was delayed by rain and traffic. By the time I arrived with my daughter Sophie in tow–Sam’s favorite girl–Mom was ready to leave. Heavy rain and deep puddles added to the daunting prospect of luring the weeping boy out of his car seat and back into the stable, but we persevered.

Equine therapy literature also notes that negative behaviors almost always stop as soon as the child is on the horse and the horse begins to move. And we still had to work Bubbles into the fray. Her job would be to get Sam to and from this activity and then to sit and do nothing, no small task for an athletic dog new to this world and these hooved, snorting, swishy-tailed animals.

As Sam’s experience on horseback increases, Bubbles will learn more and more about the art of doing nothing–and how to leave sawdust-flavored horse dung alone!

Researchers have done studies that show equine therapy offers autistic children a greater sense of themselves, their bodies, and contact and interaction with the world around them, and our day certainly went a long way towards supporting this research.

Sam’s wide grins, cooperative behavior, infectious giggles, awareness of sounds and smells and sights along with his relaxed posture both during and after his ride were evidence enough for us. We’ll be back for more!

A little more than a year into my relationship with ‘rescue dog’ Tommy the Wizard, the shih tzu I reluctantly took in and then fell in love with and fully adopted, I find myself once again fostering a dog who arrived with issues, uncertainly and no formal training. Roxy is a nearly 5 year old puggle (a cross between a pug and a beagle) whose owners found me agreeing to take custody of her for the express purpose of finding her a new and wonderful forever home during a narrow window of opportunity.

How did they do it? First success — I answered the phone and listened to the story. Second — per my request Roxy came to two DIP’s over the course of a week for me to evaluate her suitability in working into the pack in my home with the least amount of trouble. She passed my test which only had to do with her attitude towards other dogs and dog savvy / confident cats. She passed that with flying colors. Third, they were able to continue to care well enough for her until I could take her on.

Roxy arrived early in the afternoon on Feb. 21. Her owner tearfully handed her over both legally (relinquishing custody) and physically. Roxy watched her owner — since puppyhood — leave. She howled. I knew the day would be a long one! And I knew I had much to learn about Roxy.

Where am I?

Challenges (the (-) things I discovered about her early on:

1. She was not reliably house trained. Yikes! To be a four year old dog and not yet know definitely where to eliminate suggests there were other manners lacking. Gulp.

2.She’s a bit of a diva — whines when she doesn’t get exactly what she wants. Doesn’t like rain. Doesn’t like mud. Doesn’t like the crate. Found her standing on my dining room table without a whiff of remorse. To her credit, she was standing next to the bag of her things left by her owner looking mournful. But standing on the dining room table is not acceptable at Camp A Better Pet!

3.No reliable trained behaviors. Yes, she’d sit if food were in hand, but not on cold surfaces. She looked stymied if asked to stay. “STAY! What do you mean by this STAY?” Poor leash manners, little to no boundaries. Jumping up on people, at counter tops (too short to reach!), barking at people going by.

4. Came with a few stuffed animal squeaky toys but no desire to play.

Now, 10 days later, I can report the following:

1. She is house trained. Diligent management, frequent opportunity to eliminate (first in areas where she was comfortable with the surface — grassy lawn that wasn’t deeply muddy) and patiently making myself as boring as the mud until she finally went. Then high praise, great food treat and a 30 second butt scratch. I now  can get her to go potty on cue so I can ensure her bladder and bowels are empty before I leave. I even got her to go pee in icy pouring rain. Go Roxy!

Bean teaches Roxy

2. She is coming out of her shell and playing with toys, enjoying bullies and, gasp, playing with dogs!

3. She walks beautifully on a leash now. Bean, my go to dog trainer extraordinaire, trained her.

3. She comes when I call her, sits whenever and where ever I ask, and I’m going to teach her down.

4. She can watch things go by the window quietly.

5. She has earned bed privileges and does a great job of snuggling or being at the foot of my bed without a peep.

6. She trots happily into the crate and settles in quietly when I ask her to.

7. She adjusted to specific meals instead of a free feeding approach and has already slimmed down — as she loses some of her pudge she is also getting more active. (I actually told Roxy she’s a puggle, not a pudgel when we went through the feeding routine, challenging at first. Roxy is more of a couch potato than athletic competitor but if she continues to get the support and cheer leading she needs, she could become quite the athlete in between power naps!)

All told, Roxy has begun blossoming into an intelligent, sensitive and wonderfully easy and likeable dog. She’s ready for a new home where with some adjustment and maintenance of what has begun during her fostering, she’ll no doubt bring untold joy and wonderment wherever I help guide her landing.

But my point is not just in securing a great home for Roxy — I may have already found a perfect match for her; it is this. Dogs just like Roxy are adopted every day by well intended but clueless people who have a vague sense of the relationship to come.  No doubt a new family might be mortified at the sort of bad habits Roxy arrived with — she might have gone through rescue recycling and never really settle. We all have baggage. To develop a truly, deeply madly wonderful relationship, takes time, patience, learning and love. For whatever length of time an animal shares your life – days, weeks, months or a lifetime, be mindful, aware of the present, hopes for the future, be fair and remain patient. The dog, no matter that baggage, like a diamond in the rough, will begin to shine and become the dog you want or need her to be. Roxy has now become the perfect foster dog and there is no urgency to her placement — but there will be a placement.

Regardless of the source of your dog, at whatever age, with whatever issues, it is absolutely critical to establish the role of benevolent leader to achieve the greatest success in the human/dog relationship. The Six Pillars Approach is a clear, fair and non negotiable program that, while possibly daunting at first, is guaranteed to speed dial you to success. It is how I have learned to live in such harmony with so many animals and how I impart what I have learned in the most useful form possible for my clients. Having a clear cut, logical and measurable method can turn any pet owner into a BENEVOLENT LEADER.

Want a family friendly way to learn the basics and practice in a safe and fun environment? Group classes begin April 16 for pups and young dogs. Want help on a private level. Go HERE.

Time can be measured in many ways. the blink of an eye, seconds, moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, decades, lifetimes, centuries, millennium and yada yada yada. The benefit of such measure is often comparative –  to reflect on how things are the same, how things are different. Then getting subjective — how things are better, or how things are worse. Living and working hands on with dogs full time for over the past 12 years has engendered a greater awareness of the value of living in the moment — it is a testament to the power of the animals I share my life with how many perfect moments there are in life, even amid stress, sorrow, sadness, loss and pain.  Yet at the same time, a wise man once told me (okay, so it was my father!), if you can look back at a year ago and say that today things are better or at least no worse, then you are doing well. Forward ho. Or something like that.

So it is as an anniversary arrives I step back to become reflective.  The Story of Tommy the Wizard.

The day he arrived.

Needless to say rescue work is an ancillary part of what many pet professionals encounter — that is, helping find new homes for pets who have lost theirs, as well as helping people find new pets for their homes. Making the right match is crucial to success — after all, the goal is to make or keep a formerly homeless or unwanted animal in a committed and nurturing home. I have counseled people on re-homing a dog that isn’t’ the right match; I have steered people towards animals they might not have recognized as the right fit with great success. So the phone call I received from a vet colleague in a county an hour north of me in the dead of winter wasn’t really a surprise. Nor was it even the first time Dr. Salinger and I had partnered in finding a dog a new home.

She told me she had a 4 year old intact shi tzu male dog that had been brought into her vet clinic to be euthanized by his owner for aggression. Seems his owner, an older adult woman, had taken physical and legal custody of her 3 year old grandson. The dog had bitten the child. The dog had to go. The vet and her staff didn’t really think the dog was aggressive and made a deal. They agreed that if the owner signed over custody of the dog to the vet and paid to have him neutered and updated on immunizations, they would find him a new home. That’s where I came in.

“Hi Rachel. How would you like to foster and find a new home for an adult male shi tzu?”

“No.” I said emphatically. “Too much going on.”

In all honestly my first thought when she told me the scenario — social worker hat kicking in –  was, “wow, I wonder what happened that an older woman would suddenly have custody of a 3 year old grandson. What happened to his parents? Why was he removed from their care? What was this grandmother thinking about having to suddenly care for a needy and probably traumatized toddler? And the toddler, well, I’m sure he was pretty freaked out too. Add an under socialized and untrained  and intact 4 year old dog to this mix, trying to express his own anxiety about it all and oy, what a recipe for chaos! But again, looking out the window at mountains of snow, again I said, “No! Can’t do it.”

After all, Bubbles the service dog puppy in training had been with me less than a month; the snow and cold of winter was ridiculous and endless.  I had my own two dogs, 3 cats and oh yeah, three daughters to boot. Not to mention a thriving private and group dog training company to run and oh yeah, an invention, Har-Vest, to market!  And of course I needed time to do my endless sweeping and vacuuming!

Well, without going into the sordid details, no turned into maybe. The dear doctor wore me down.  On a frigid Saturday, February 19, 2011 she drove — over an hour — to hand deliver the dog. She then got back in her car and drove off. At the end of the nylon leash she handed me was a nearly all black, shaggy, 17 pound sturdy mass of confused dog wearing a cone of shame (he was still recovering from his neutering).

I remember looking down at his mushy face and buggy eyes partially obscured by his shaggy mane and wondering what I had agreed to. I bent down, took the cone off, and brought him into the house. I should have known from that first minute something special was up. Neither of my dogs, Bean and Trip, reacted to him.  In the least. Very unusual. Actually unprecedented.  Bubbles bounded over to him and without any sound or contact, she bounced back away again as if hit by a force field, cocked her head and looked at him. I couldn’t figure out exactly what he was doing, the blackness of his coat prevented seeing a lot of detail, but I could see he had some magical powers.

I told my girls to ignore him — he had a bite history although I had trouble imagining his smushy mouth inflicting much damage — and had him watch me throw away the dog food (Beneful, ugh) he came with. When I offered him his first meal of the food I give my own dogs , he looked at it, looked at me, and snubbed it. I shrugged, picked up the bowl and put it away. We repeated that dance for three days — twice each day I offered him food, he held out. I rationalized that he wouldn’t commit suicide by starvation but that in order for me to foster him until finding him a great home, he had to get with the program and he was the 4th dog now.

On the morning of the third full day, I once again offered him a bowl of food. He looked at me, looked at the food, looked at me again, and ate the entire meal. From then on, he and I were in love.  I knew then I would never place him. I didn’t really let on to others — even my girls, for a few months, arguing that the right match hadn’t come along. But it had. It was with me.

Some obscure thought train led me to liken him to Tom Corbett, the character Bill Bixby played on the show THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER. Don’t ask me how! But from that I started calling him Tommy. Like He Who Must Not Be Named from Harry Potter, so too did I tell my children we could not utter his former name for fear of a PTSD flashback coming into his rounded cranium.

Time, love, structure, exercise, socialization, consistency, affection and confidence all helped heal Tommy. He has in his own way turned his powerful healing ways into healing others as well — dogs and in some cases, people.  There are countless humorous anecdotes of some of his adventures. I take him with me whenever and wherever I can. He has a devoted fan club and it keeps growing. The wellspring of love I have for this animals is unlike any other. I can just touch him and I feel rejuvenated.

So as I reflect on the past year and ask myself if it’s better than the year before, I shout out a resounding yes. In great part because of Tommy. So it is with a warm spot in my heart I say, “Happy Anniversary Tommy Boy”. May we have many many more years together. The only place you’re going is on adventures with me.

I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of people and thousands of dogs over the past 13 years as a licensed independent social worker passing herself off as a professional dog trainer. Privately, in group classes or both, I work on helping teach people — of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities –  the skills and knowledge to make their human/dog relationships better. Sometimes with very difficult dogs, who become less difficult when the key to communication unfolds. Sometimes with very difficult people, who become less difficult when their defenses are lowered and they are open to taking greater responsibilities.  My focus is teaching positive  and non force based methods to help dog owners become benevolent leaders. A benevolent leader does not lead by force or threat, but by becoming someone the dogs want to follow because doing so is a good thing.  Those that follow the often difficult changes suggested — breaking patterns is hard work — find deeply satisfying improvements. Thus it feeds the passion that keeps me going.

Starting and solely operating my own company from scratch and with no support and all that that entails while also raising a gaggle of daughters has truly been a non-stop blast over the years. I end every day grateful for the freedom to follow my bliss and feeling deeply and satisfyingly exhausted. In addition, I’ve raised, trained, placed and supported numerous dogs for people with special needs, the most recent one being Bubbles who has garnered her own pages in this site and who has her own video coming soon!  I’ve also had several people over the years who have expressed a desire to learn how to become dog trainers and sought my help.  With similar bravado — I took on a series of people and spent great amounts of time trying to randomly give them opportunities to learn from me. Because I was operating without guidance in this realm, I sought a way to create a more formalized, structured and goal oriented path to teaching others who are interested.

To that end, I am now offering, along with other professionals, many whom I know and deeply respect, courses through online webinar based programming that can be as simple as learning basic theory to getting a certificate of dog training that really means something, and at affordable rates at the pace you can handle. I am now a proud teacher — my first course,  How to Teach a 6 Week Dog Group Class, is already online and available, and more of my courses are in development. Offerings will include how to do a phone intake, clicker training, teaching The Six Things All Dogs Should Know, service and therapy dog task training, How to Raise and Train Your Own Service Dog with Guidance, and much much more.

Peruse the range of content and credentials of the teaching staff, and watch this video to learn more about online education. If being a dog trainer is something you are burning to learn, this is one fantastic way to go about it. Hope to see you online. And if you’re in Cleveland, Ohio and interested in learning the craft of dog training and other ancillary skills under me directly, let me know by email.

If you want to be put on a mailing list when the preview to Bubbles: A Year in the Life of an Autism Service Dog Puppy is released, please comment on this post and let me know!

Board and Train is one of those services that deserves it’s own master card commercial. Cost of boarding/training = $X/day x # of days, benefit of an improved dog priceless. Watson the golden retriever, just over  5 months old, is a charmer. With his blond good looks and his sporty attitude about life, it’s easy to forget about his increasingly rude behavior within the normal expectations of a dog within a home. But with a 3 day board and train, that’s all about to change.

Handsome boy!

Practicing Loose Leash Walking.

Day 1 is about adjusting. A board and train dog (always a private or group dog client) gets to meet & greet the menagerie and learn the rules. There are many, but all have a purpose. If appropriate, and it usually is, the B&T dog also gets to play in the yard, go for a walk, chew on some bully sticks (for Watson this included a specially prepared-in-advance dinner kongsicle), get massaged. New to the environment, a B&T dog is not left unsupervised until they learn the lay of the land and prove there is some trust (and a reliable recall). There is not a whole lot of expectation at first, but constant supervision ensures no trouble. I call this adjustment phase, Explain, and if necessary, Redirect and Reward. Repeatedly!

Watson passed Day with with Flying Colors. At night I tethered him on a chain to the radiator next to my bed with a soft bed to lie on. He whimpered for a few minutes and then settled down and slept peacefully through the night. Phew!

As I write this now, on the morning of his first full day at Camp A Better Pet, he is howling mournfully from a crate downstairs. My dogs and I are holed up upstairs listening to the story of woe he is trying to express. My dogs are unimpressed.

Why, you might ask, is he being locked away? Because he didn’t want to listen. All I asked him to do was to lie down and stay. He wouldn’t do it. So I turned around and left him. Eventually he’ll stop the moaning, it can’t go on forever. To most owners, hearing the dirge of lament is akin to torture. To me it is fascinating to hear the layers of angst and annoyance be communicates in his howling, yipping, barking and groaning. He is safe. He has been let out and already peed and had a bowel movement. He has been fed. He is not bleeding from any body part. He is just frustrated and annoyed that he is locked up down there and no one is near him and he knows we are here.

When he stops carrying on. I will return to him and put him through some paces. Long down stays, recalls, playing and the comfort of being near me. I dare say he’ll start to get it when the consequence of defiance is some time to think on his own. Aha! He’s quieted down. Only took 45 minutes. Off to tend to him! Stay tuned!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BOARD AND TRAIN, CLICK HERE.

Kudos to my honorary 4th daughter, Chelsea Cross. Very soon to become my indentured film documentarian, I mean Independent Project Advisee from Oberlin College.  Please enjoy her audition video challenge — Meet and take footage of Bubbles and her family and friends in celebration of Bubbles 1st birthday, and in between final exams and holiday mayhem, edit into a 5 minute or less video this slice of life for a boy and his life changing dog. The slice in this case, celebrating Bubbles 1st birthday in a dog and human friendly party.

She did it in 3! Love what she’s done! It outdoes the Trailer giving a glimpse into the fruit of her future labors — a documentary on A Year In The Life Jan. 18, 2011 (the day she arrived) -Jan. 18, 2012 (one year later). Stay tuned!

It surpasses the trailer

No, I didn’t just get a new puppy for the holidays. The picture above is from the day, last January, that Bubbles arrived at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport into my care after a long flight from sunny Southern California to begin her life in training as an autism service dog. As I write, large snow flakes are swirling down outside and mud permeates the backyard — over saturated from an annus horribulus of precipitation here.  I can’t believe I’m looking forward to the inevitable deep freeze of winter in Cleveland. No muddy prints!

Inquiries are already coming in from Christmas puppy people. These are people that bring eau de sweet puppy breath into their lives through the mist of holiday celebration.  Now that the festivities are winding down, the good dishes have been dried and put away, visitors are leaving, resolutions are being contemplated, it’s not cute anymore that Uncle Fred is calling the new pup The Little Pisher. The stinky “presents” behind the couch aren’t really the kind you wished for and the missing socks are turning up with ragged holes .

I think back to the first nearly six weeks with Bubbles when her paws didn’t even make contact with grass — her outdoor playground was one of snow and ice and slush. Why won’t I get another puppy this time of year again. At least for a really really long time!

House training. House training — the art of teaching a dog where to eliminate — is a process. That process means you have to give the pup opportunity to learn where the toileting area is — daunting when frozen tundra isn’t a year round phenomena. And you can’t just run out barefoot — you have to put on layer upon layer for quick potty breaks.

Mouthing/teething/chewing.Puppy teeth are sharp. Puppy minds are curious. Puppies have poor self control. Take those sharp minds with sharp teeth and you can have an interior decorating redo you didn’t anticipate. Over or under manage, express anger or violence — it doesn’t take much force to be scary and painful to a young pup — and you run the risk of raising a hellion. [this is where bully sticks come in mighty handy!]

mmm mmm bullies

Puppies want to please. They want to know what you want.  They want to  grow up into dogs giving unconditional love, multiple health benefits, companionship and humor. And that’s just the beginning.

So if you take on a new pup or young dog, or have even made a home for an older dog in need,  make the investment in time and education to learn proper puppy parenting. Consider a private training session or dog group class — or both — it can get you started off on the right paws.

For me, perhaps come spring I’ll contemplate a new set of puppy paws. Then again, maybe not!

Resting in between the havoc!

Eeny Meeny Miney Mo....

Always trying to find long lasting and healthy chews for my dogs and my client’s dogs. Lo and behold, the holidays came early when fresh off the busy UPS truck delivery came this container of the thickest select bullies I’ve ever seen –  and just in time for the holidays. Did you know that chewing is a great way to dissipate excess energy, anxiety as well as let your dog know how much you care. Not just for teething puppies, although really great for that, bully sticks are the #1 chew around here. And these thick ones are great all on their own or jammed into a wide variety of dog toys.

2 great sizes -- 6 and 9"

And for a limited time offer, order 50 or more and GET FREE SHIPPING. That’s right, anyone who orders 50 or more bully sticks between now and December 31 is entitled to free shipping OR 20% off any future orders. Just be sure to mention it in the comments section or shoot me an email to confirm and buy with confidence. CLICK FOR PRICE LIST and come on over to THE STORE.

Bully sticks do not expire or go bad, keep well indoors or out, and are the number one stocking stuffer or gift under the Hanukah bush for your canine companions! Buy some today!

Don’t forget BULLY BONES as well!