Registration Packet - Done!

Well, we passed our test and then I got busy. I know…it is an excuse, but really!! We sold our house, bought a new one, moved, unpacked (sort of), the holidays hit, I joined a gym, family came in town and filling out the necessary registration paper work was put on the back burner. I knew I needed to get it done so I was reading it over and realized that if they don’t receive your registration packet within 90 days of you passing your test then you have to re-take the test!! So, that lit a fire under me and I got it done ASAP since 90 days from our test is on January 28, 2012! This morning I put the packet in the mail to make its way to Bellevue, Washington. It should take 2-3 weeks for them to process all of the paper work, and then they will send me my completion letter and a badge. Once I receive that I’m free to start visiting and it’s up to me where and when. I can call places on my own, see if they accept Pet Partner teams and set up a visit.

Deciding where I want to visit will be my next big step and guess what?!? I’m nervous! Well, nervous and excited. I want to find a good fit for us when we are just starting out so we can ease into it or rather I can ease into it. Is a nursing home to risky or just right? I don’t know! Is a library program a good fit or is Georgia not to the point where she could hold still for that long while a child reads to her? Are there any local hospitals that will allow us to visit patients? I already know a local hospital that won’t allow us, because they only allow a certain breed of dog – not fair! I think I’d really like to visit a hospital, but that may not work out and a nursing home may be the next best thing. So, does anyone have any suggestions? Have you been to a place where you’ve seen other therapy dogs? If so, let me know and that may be something I look into.

That’s it for now, I’ll let you know once we’ve received our letter and badge, and then the visiting can start!!  Also, happy new year! Hoping we all have a wonderful, peaceful & healthy 2012!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know, I know…we passed our test and then more blog silence. I think I have a pretty good excuse though. We just moved into our new house 6 days ago! So, I’ve been a little busy and stressed. I did manage to get the papers to Georgia’s vet that he needed to fill out as part of the registering process. There is more paperwork I need to fill out and a fee I need to send in and then we’ll be done - hopefully. So, that is the status. We can’t visit yet, but we are getting closer.

This is just a short little blog to let you know where we stand and to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be thankful for and I realize that more and more as I get older. I also notice I’m very thankful for the little things as well. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I’m very thankful for Georgia. She is a very special part of my life and it wouldn’t be the same without her. Even though she’s been stressed out and whining a lot due to the move, I think she’s getting used to her new house and realizing that it is home. Last night her friend, Auburn, came over to play (my mom’s dog). When it was time for him to leave and I was trying to put his leash on him for my mom Georgia was jumping around and head-butt me right in the nose. Needless to say it hurt REALLY BAD, but I’m STILL very thankful for my sweet Georgia Marie!

So, hug your people, hug your dogs and let them know you are thankful for them!!

Have a safe and happy holiday!!!

We Passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

 

 

Yesterday afternoon Georgia and I drove to a church on the northside of town to be tested by a Delta Society Evaluator on our Delta Society Pet Partners Skills & Aptitude test & WE PASSED!!!!! We are approved to work in predictable environments. This means places like schools, libraries, hospitals and nursing homes. Basically it means we couldn't work in a prison, psych/dementia unit or things similar to that as they are unpredictable. I'm fine with this as I would prefer predictable environments.

 

If you spoke to me in the days leading up to the test you knew how extremely nervous I was! Saturday night we went to a costume party and Georgia was invited as well (she was the black swan), this helped to really tire her out for Sunday afternoon so she was a little calmer for our test. However, she wasn't as tired as I thought she'd be. She slept all morning, but when we got to the church to test she was wide awake mostly because there were several other dogs there to be tested and a dog that was part of the test. We went inside and I had to fill out a few forms - my hands were shaking! We were in a kind of holding room while another dog was testing, but we could hear them and Georgia started to whine because she wanted to see what was going on out there. I didn't want to distract the team testing so we waited outside until it was our turn. This worked out well, we got a chance to practice a few things and get her calmed down...maybe helped calm me too.

 

Next thing I knew it was our turn. I was nervous to say the least, but the evaluator and the volunteers that helped with the test were so very nice to me and Georgia. Georgia wanted to smell the room, take it all in and then we were ready to begin. She did so well when I told her to "sit", "lay down" and "stay", which were all things I felt sure she would do just fine on. I was really worried about the part where she had to walk at my side without having a tight leash, but she did perfectly! Seriously it was the best "heal" she'd ever done! I was also a little concerned about the part where we had to greet a person with a dog and Georgia couldn't go towards the other dog or handler, she either had to stand still or sit still at my side. We had to try it 3 times, but the 3rd time was perfect and we passed that part! I was worried we would get a 'not ready' mark on that one. Then one of the last things to do was the 'leave it' which is something that Georgia does really well, I wasn't worried at all. The evaluator put a dog toy on the ground and we had to walk right by it with me telling her to 'leave it', she didn't try to pick it up but did touch it with her nose so we got a 'not ready'. I really was surprised, normally she's so good at 'leave it'. But it all worked out because we only got one 'not ready' which means that's good enough to pass! It's just funny that the things I worried about went well and the one I didn't we had a problem with - odd! Georgia did SO well with all the parts where she had to deal with people directly and it involved being petted roughly by 4 people at once, being very close to two people that were yelling at each other, a person making loud sounds near her, a person staggering around & a person bumping her from behind. While all of these things were happening I was right there telling her it was ok and petting her. The evaluator commented that I was very supportive of her and we made a good team. That's something they look for, to see if I interact with her and support her during stressful situations.

 

After we passed I felt so relieved and excited. Georgia wasn't sure what was going on, but I think she knew she did something really good. So, people have already started asking me, "Can you start visiting now?", and the answer is not yet. The hard part is over. What's next is for me to fill out some paper work, have our vet fill out some paper work and then I send it in to the Delta Society along with a the test form signed by our evaluator & registration fee. Once Delta Society processes all that we'll get our badge and then it's up to me to contact places to see if they accept visits from Delta Society Pet Partner teams. I think I want to try a library and a nursing home. I could do schools, but I'm not sure how that would work and what their needs would be or if they would even need a visit from a Pet Partners team. Nathan was so proud of us and one of his questions was, "So she's already a Canine Good Citizen, what is her new title?" I wouldn't really call it a title, but I guess she'd be called a Pet Partner as would I. So, that's where it stands!

 

Even though I'm stressed a bit with our up coming move I plan to get on working with the vet to get his portion filled out this week. The rest is just stuff I fill out at home and send in. Thanks to everyone who wished us well this weekend on our test - we appreciate it! I've included a picture of Georgia as a bee from last Halloween. I have a picture of her as the black swan, but she was on the move so it's blurry. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!!!

Upcoming Delta Test!

                                                                            Spoiled!!!

 

Wow, I haven't written a blog post since 9/11 - sorry about that! Things have been busy with selling our current home and buying a new home - we close on both mid November! Really I haven't written a Pet Partners centered entry since Labor Day weekend about our last lesson with C. I didn't even finish discussing that last lesson as that post got so long. I left off saying I would discuss my nervousness during my next post; so here it is! I was nervous during that last lesson with C for two reasons: 1. I was nervous to work Georgia with other dogs. 2. I was nervous about this being our last lesson with C. Looking back I had no reason to be nervous about working Georgia with other dogs; all three dogs did so well together that day. Being nervous about not having C around anymore is just me, can't do much to change it. Honestly, if I could have a lesson with her twice a month every month that'd be amazing, but money doesn't grow on trees (I'm still hoping that one day happens!).

 

Since that lesson I have worked on training but not as I should. Then I got an e-mail that a testing day was coming up - October 29th. At first I was just going to turn it down and say we weren't ready because we'd been so busy with the moving business and that I'd put it off until the spring. Then I started to think...if I put it off that long there is a large chance I wouldn't ever do it and I can't let that happen. We've put too much time, money and energy into this. I at least have to try! So, I bit the bullet, signed up for a testing time slot, filled out the paper work, filed Georgia's nails and worked on training. She was a bit rusty when I said, "lay down" and she jumped up - OOPS! But she got better, I think the problem was that I was using cheese and she goes a little nuts for cheese. She'll just start doing all her commands to see if any one of them is what I want her to do in order to get the cheese. Literally I get out cheese, won't say a word and she'll lay down, then sit, then lay down, then roll over, then try to shake, jump up...it's pretty funny. We can't use treats during the test; it all has to be verbal praise, which is kind of good for her since she can go nuts for food sometimes.

 

I just found out the test got changed to this Sunday afternoon, which is fine. She is a bit more active in the afternoons so we'll go for a walk Sunday morning in hopes she'll be more calm a the test. Heaven knows we need her to be calm as I may get ill I'm so nervous! I'm really hoping I can pull it together and not let my nerves get the best of me or her. She will sense if I'm nervous so I need to stay calm for her. I want to pass this so badly, but it is only $15 to test, so IF we do not pass then we can take it again and it doesn't cost a fortune. I want to finish what we started and be successful so we can do something positive for others.

 

So, to wrap this up. Please send good thoughts/prayers our way on Sunday afternoon around 2:00pm that we can be calm and work well as a team to pass our test. Georgia is such a sweet, smart girl and I have faith in her, just not in me, but I know that she trusts me so I can't let her down. I will keep you all posted on how it goes! Thanks for following along on our journey. I'll leave you with a quote I found and currently have up in my house, "My goal in life is to be the person that my dog thinks I am."

9/11 - 10 years? Wow..

I still need to write part two of my last blog, but I thought this topic deserved a blog entry. On Sunday we will observe the 10^th anniversary of the September 11 events. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking, “How could it already be 10 years?” It is one of those days and time periods that I will never forget. I’m sure I’ll still be able to tell my future children very specific details when they are old enough to understand.

I thought I’d share some of my memories of that day. I always find it interesting to hear other people’s memories of 9/11. What were they thinking, what did they notice, and what will they never forget? I was a junior in high school on September 11, 2001. I can tell you exactly what I was wearing; a navy blue Strawberry Shortcake hoodie and jeans – it was always cold in our school. I had just left my 1^st period art class and was on my way to my 2^nd period science class. During passing period the office came over the loud speaker, all I could make out due to the noise in the hallways was, “a plane has it the trade center.” I was super confused…why would they be coming over the loud speaker during passing period to tell us about a plane hitting something? I thought for sure it must be local or why would they tell us in that manner. I got to the locker I shared with my friend, Maria, she wasn’t there, but the girl that had the locker next to us was and I said, “Where did that plane hit? Indianapolis?” She looked at me with total disgust and said, “No, the World Trade Center is in New York City.” Yikes – sorry! I couldn’t fully hear the message and I couldn’t wrap my brain around why they would come over the loud speaker to tell us about something in New York; that just didn’t make sense to me. They’d never informed of us any big news in that way.

So, confused and annoyed that the girl I had asked was so short with me I went on to 2^nd period, Mr. Davis’ class. When I walked in the room he already had the TV on to one of the major new channels. I still was not sure what had happened/what was happening. There were a few people in the room and they were all glued to the TV, so I sat down and literally right as I looked up to the TV I saw the second plane hit. I remember everyone gasping at once. My mind was racing, I remember thinking, “What is happening?! Why is this happening?!” I don’t remember if I got more details from the TV or people around me, but when I started putting together that this was not an accident and that we were being attacked one constant thought kept echoing in my head: “This is it, the world is over.” Yes, NYC and Washington are far from Indiana, but this kind of thing didn’t happen to America and I never thought it would. I don’t remember freaking out, I remember staying quiet for the most part and listening to the news and others around me. Right after I saw the second plane hit I heard a plane over the school. I remember holding my breath and thinking this is it…they are coming for us too. Now, why would terrorists target a high school in rural Indiana? But, then again, why do they do anything they do? I don’t know, I just thought we were under total attack. Thankfully we weren’t.

The rest of the day was kind of a blur of going from class to class and all we did was watch the news. I remember some parents coming to get their kids out of school. My dad was at work and my mom was actually out of town in Cleveland. This worried me; I didn’t like her being far from home with all this going on. She wanted to come home, but couldn’t right away, the highways were gridlocked and flying wasn’t an option. Looking back I’m kind of surprised I didn’t panic. I think I was just so scared, sad and confused that I couldn’t panic. It was a feeling I’ll never forget and hope I never feel again. Once school ended I remember calling my dad. I don’t remember our conversation, but I know we both asked if the other was ok and I asked if he’d spoken to my mom, he had and she was fine. From there I know what happened, but can’t remember the exact order. After school I went two places before I went home: my friend Candice’s house and a gas station. I don’t know which place I went first or who told me to go to the gas station and fill up, it was either my dad or Candice’s mom. I also remember watching the news some at Candice’s house and talking to her mom. At some point I did go to a gas station. It was chaos and like nothing I’d ever seen. I got in the very long line…most people were just standing outside their car waiting. I was finally able to get gas. The panic for gas was probably because prices would go up and would gas be readily available anymore? At least that was my thinking because remember I thought it was the beginning of the end. When I got home I don’t remember much other than my youngest sister being very scared and extremely worried that my mom wasn’t home, she was 11 years old at the time.

Everything else all runs together from that day and those following. I remember my mom getting home a few days later and being VERY relieved to see her. I remember feeling a lot of emotions and swearing I’d never get on a plane again (well, I have many times since). To be honest after that day my day to day life didn’t really change. I guess the biggest thing for me is that I always get a little nervous on flights or at large gatherings of people, like the Indy 500. I remember the first 500 I went to after 9/11 I was really nervous thinking this would be an ideal target. That thought still crosses my mind…even at something like a Colts game, but it’s just for a second. I was one of the lucky, unlike those poor people on the planes & in the buildings and their families. I can’t even begin to imagine what they went through, felt & deal with today. The next time I remember 9/11 hitting me was that first Christmas. I watched the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center on TV. They had the tree lit in all red, white & blue lights. Out of nowhere I started crying really hard…it was a mix of sadness and being proud of our country. Today I am still saddened and still proud and the 10^th anniversary reminds me of that.

To wrap this up I wanted to tie it to dogs, because after all this is a dog related blog. Many dogs and their handlers were heroes on that day and the days following just like the brave first responders. Search and rescue dogs are amazing and deserve a lot of credit as do the people that train and work with them. Although I don’t know of an exact case I can promise you that dogs out there were used in different forms of therapy to help victims and first responders. I can also say with 100% confidence that dogs around the country were there for all of us if we needed a shoulder to cry on or just sit with quietly. They knew something was wrong and that we were all hurting, they felt it too. I watched the end of Titanic the other day and got tears in my eyes and Georgia knew I was upset and was right next to me, so without a doubt she would have felt my emotions and been there for me on September 11^th if she’d been around. So, on September 11^th and any day for that matter, hug your dogs, hug your people and be thankful you are here and proud of our country and its heroes…humane and canine!

Lesson 10 - Last one, but not the end!

I’m writing this blog feeling three emotions: sad, proud and nervous. This past Saturday was our last lesson with C. This final lesson lasted longer than an hour and was a group lesson. It involved us and two others working with C and their dogs. Again, I won’t use their names, just initials, but will give the dogs’ names. Both students were ladies; they were K and her female lab Kelly and M and her male mutt Miles. K & Kelly were also on their last of 10 lessons. M & Miles still have several more to go. This gave us all a chance to work our dogs with other dogs; this is part of the Delta test. We have to be able to walk up to someone who also has a dog on a leash and shake hands while your dog remains sitting. I was worried about this as Georgia is friendly with other dogs, but she did well and sat during our practice runs with the other dogs. We all took turns running through different parts of the Delta test and C told us things that we could get dinged on. A tight leash is one…have to work on that when turning. Georgia tends to get a little head of me. Must have a loose leash!

Back to my emotions, we’ll start with sad. I am sad because C has become a friend to both me and Georgia. I am sad to not have another lesson with her to look forward to. She clearly loves dogs, people and her job. She works miracles. She would never say that, she’d say that it’s really me and Georgia, but I think it’s all three of us.  We could not have done it without her, that’s 100% true. Georgia is my team mate and does give me confidence, but it was nice to have someone to literally say, “You can do it”. C believes Georgia is meant for this and that I am too. Once she called Georgia a “heart dog”, meaning she captures your heart right away. I like that. I’m almost in tears writing this. Clearly Georgia has captured my heart! J

The next emotion is proud. I am so proud of how far we have come as individuals and a team. From where we started to where we are today is a huge improvement. Do we still have work to do? Yes, I think we always will, but I’m proud of how far we’ve come and will go in the future. My puppy is growing up and become a well behaved dog! I was also proud watching the other teams we worked with on Saturday.  It was the first time I’d met them, but C gave me some background info on where they started. Both teams looked good; another testament to C and her skills.

Now, some more detail about our last lesson and some other exciting news. We’ll get to my nervousness later. We had our group lesson outside of a public library in a shaded area (it was 100 degrees Saturday!) This is when we practiced greeting a person with a dog and did other items that will be on the Delta test. Something else we did was C tried to scare the dogs by opening a large umbrella near them and waving it around. All three dogs didn’t seem to notice, so that was good. C said to pass this part of the test we just have to re-assure our dog and keep them calm. In the test they may do something like that or knock something over that makes a loud sound. I’m not too worried about this part, Georgia normally does OK if I re-assure her. By re-assure her I mean I just gentle pat her and say, “It’s ok”.

After we had worked outside for a bit and worked up a sweat we were able to go into the lobby of the library. This occurred because as we arrived at the library C saw a former student and her dog entering the library. She was there as part of the ‘Read to the Dog’ program which happens two Saturdays a month at this particular library. C asked if it was OK for us to just enter the lobby area with the dogs to practice entering a new place with a good amount of people around. So, off we went in a single file line into the library lobby. We had all three dogs lie down and ‘stay’. This wasn’t too difficult for them since they were all worn out from being in the heat. As we all stood their cooling off and having the dogs ‘stay’, a woman came out of a nearby restroom. Georgia and I were the closest to her (of course) and she saw us first, then she saw the other two dogs. Her eyes got huge, she started screaming, “OH MY GOSH” & slammed herself against the wall. I told her it was ok and that my dog and the other two were nice and wouldn’t hurt her. This didn’t seem to help, she continued to panic and breathe hard. C then stepped in-between the woman and us and the dogs. She told her it was OK and that these dogs weren’t aggressive or they wouldn’t be out in a public setting like this. None of this seemed to help. C had to take the woman by the arm, tell her to breathe and walk her out of the library. It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. The dogs never got up, they all remained lying down. Maybe this woman had a terrible experience with a dog, it sure seemed that way, but it was very dramatic. I just had to shake my head. After she was safely out of the library we had some kids come by and asked to pet the dogs, everyone did well. While it was a strange situation, at least it reminded me that some people do fear dogs and I need to be prepared for that.

Next we left the library and headed to C’s house to get some cool drinks, do a bit more training and discuss the next steps. Once there M brought up the CGC test (Canine Good Citizen). I had heard of it but knew it wasn’t something necessary to become a therapy dog so I hadn’t given it any thought. I learned that C is authorized to administer the test for the American Kennel Club. We got out the paper work and went through the nine items required to pass. We had completed them all at the library except for one; separation. This requires the owner to leave the dog for 3 minutes without the dog whining, barking or panicking over his/her owner leaving. So, I went outside for 3 minutes and Georgia was perfectly fine – she passed! Georgia is now Canine Good Citizen. It is really just a title that shows your dog is well behaved. She will get a certificate and tag for her collar from the American Kennel Club stating she is a CGC. This is not the test to become a therapy dog, but it’s something nice to have. I’m so proud of my Good Citizen Georgia! Georgia becoming a CGC is the existing news I mentioned earlier in the blog. Yay!

One more emotion to discuss: nervousness. This blog entry is long enough, so I’ll touch on that in another one & finish detailing our last lesson with C. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. We did, but it was too short! Thanks for reading!

Lesson 9

We had another lesson this past weekend, but this time at a different PetsMart; on the north side. Things went well! I really enjoy our lessons with C and am sad that we only have one left. I’m getting ahead of myself; let me start at the beginning. Prior to our lesson we’d been working on the “Gentle Leader Game” meaning if I hold out/open the gentle leader and Georgia willingly puts her nose through it I give her a treat. This was to get Georgia to not mind the gentle leader being put on her and to associate it with good things i.e. treats! She did well at this game because my girl loves her some treats!

On Saturday we met up with C. Georgia and I got there a little early so we went ahead inside since it was so hot. Now normally she would literally be dragging me through the parking lot and doors because of all the scents, people and dogs. She can’t wait to smell and see everything and everyone. I’m pleased to report this was NOT the case. Georgia and I walked in at a normal pace and walked around PetsMart and practiced her stopping and sitting on my command, then we practiced her laying down and staying in that position until I released her. We saw C coming so we went to the front and I had her sit and stay as C walked up. She did stay but she was whining and shaking because she loves C and wanted to jump on her really bad, but she DIDN’T!

Next we got her focused again because C’s arrival got her all excited. We did some heeling and sitting. Then we did more of having her lie down and stay. This sounds easy but it’s much harder to do at a PetsMart on a Saturday when there are dogs walking all around us. She did good and stayed in a lie down position for awhile. Then we worked on “come here”. Georgia had to come to me when I would say, “Georgia, come here!” This was also challenging due to all of the distractions. It took her a second at first because she was looking around, but then she came over to me. Next we made it a little more difficult by C holding treats in her hand (not allowing Georgia to get them, but she could smell/see them). I called her again and she had to make the choice to leave the treats that were very near her face and come to me. Took a few times, but she figured it out. We rewarded her by me giving her a treat when she game to me and then C came up to us after Georgia came to me and gave her another treat. So, it was a double reward for making a good decision. You may be thinking, “Geez, this dog gets a lot of food.” When I say she gets a treat during training it is a very, very tiny piece of jerky or some other soft dog treats that I’ve cut to be very small, so she really isn’t getting that much during training, just enough to keep her interested.

Then we walked into the middle of the store in the main isle (busiest part of the store). With people and dogs walking right past us she had to sit and stay on my command. She wasn’t 100%, but did well and listened most of the time. Since she’s the sweetest dog ever and looks friendly two people came up to us to pet her, which is fine and good practice. We explained to them what we were doing and why we were training her. Basically we just wanted them to pet/talk to her while she stayed in a sitting position. One boy asked if he could give her a treat, I told him yes & gave him one to give her. He then tried to train her himself getting her to lie down using the treat as bait. She did and was good, but I wish he would have just pet her so I could see her in that situation with a total stranger. I can’t complain as I believe this boy had special needs and it did make him smile to be able to pet Georgia and get her to respond to his request for her to lie down. He also asked her for “kisses” and she wouldn’t do that because she’s not a licker (something I love about her!). To my surprise I’ve had several strangers (adults) ask for my dog to lick their face, is that strange to anyone else?! Oh well, no harm done, just odd I guess.

That about wraps it up; I think we had another successful lesson. Our next and final lesson will include another dog. Georgia has to be able to greet a neutral dog without jumping and listening to my commands, so THAT should be interesting! After that we will be done with our formal training and I’ll have to keep it up on my own!