Are You OK Mommy?

Posted on June 28, 2008
Filed Under Firsts, Major Steps, Tips and Tricks | Leave a Comment

today i took a tumble out into the middle of the street right infront of the path of a fire truck. even though i was disoriented, it was noisy and cars were going by while i was sitting down liame looked into my eyes and with his cute puppy face asked me, “are you ok mommy?” there is part of me that cant believe he didnt run away with his tail between his legs but i guess all that walking down 1st ave with semis going by 5 feet from us really paid off.

Biking Into Work

Posted on June 21, 2008
Filed Under Firsts, Mitigating Symptoms, Toys | Leave a Comment

yesterday liame and i biked into work in preparation for jaspers eventual retirement in a couple of weeks. i know in order to get through this depressive cycle i am in, i need to get more exercise. biking to work is part of the solution to my exercise needs.

last week i purchased a “croozer dog” bike trailer to pull liame in (see link above). i chose this trailer due to its ability to handle a 100lb dog, something none of the other trailers currently on the market can do. currently liame fits in it rather nicely (since he is only 50lbs and still only 6 months old).

he didnt seem to have any problem riding in it, infact when i checked in on him during our 30 minutes trip, he was lying down yawning. getting him into the trailer was a bit of a challenge though. inorder for him to hop into the thing i had to get out the great motivator - string cheese. i threw it into the trailer and zipped it up while he was munching on it. the only thing that i need to warn people about is the fact that with a dog moving around in the trailer, a kickstand isnt enough to keep the bike standing, you need to have some other method of supporting your bike while your dog is in the trailer. although when the bike did eventually fall over it didnt flip the trailer with liame in it - thank god.

with the high gas prices, the ability to reduce your carbon emissions and the need for regular exercise i would like to encourage all of you to bike to work during the summer months.

New Experiences

Posted on May 25, 2008
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today we did a ton of new things.  neil and i took the water taxi over to pike place market and had breakfast.  here are the new adventures in service dog training we had that day.  i came prepared with my treat pouch and several pieces of string cheese.

first time on a boat - which really didnt mean to much to liame since he couldnt see out the windows

first time on a grate - it was really scary for me and even worse for liame because it was at least 40 feet over the water and very textured. but instead of slowly trying to coax him onto it i just ran for it.  he didnt know what was happening until he was about 1/4 of the way down it.    he quickly starting becoming timid but bringing out the string cheese really helped since he no longer was looking down and instead was focused on the string cheese.

first time on a dock - the dock was swaying back and forth and was tough for me to walk on. liame however didnt seem to mind it that much

Puppy Junior High

Posted on May 7, 2008
Filed Under Class, Firsts, Mistakes, Things That Make Me Smile | Leave a Comment

liame went to his first puppy junior high class today and was the star pupil. he sat on his mat like he was supposed to, didnt try to play with the other dogs too much and payed attention to me. looks like he is finally learning some self control. i didnt like this teacher as much as i do the puppy kindergarten one. she seems more strict and unwilling to use other teaching methods (that arent 100% positive). not everyone can be positive 100% of the time and not every puppy can be taught using these methods.
i remember when i first got liame and he tried to get push his little puppy head into the fridge EVERY time i opened it up. no matter what positive reinforcement i used he ignored it because he just liked the fridge too much. i ended up screaming at him and even took a swipe at him in utter frustration - something i will regret for the rest of my life. that didnt even work (cuz it wasent that hard and mommy getting mad didnt mean a thing to him at that point). i ended up searching the web for something to use that would get his attention. i used a squirt bottle filled with water. within three trys and three squirts he never stuck his head in the fridge again. so the moral of the story is 100% positive reinforcement 100% of the time is great for some puppys, but not all of them.

Firsts On Our First Airplane Trip

Posted on May 3, 2008
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1sts on our trip
leave alone with a stranger
leaving out of crate in strange environment
spinning automatic doors
fast moving glass elevator (very scary)
slippery floor
being unable to fit completely out of sight under a table in a dining situation
intro to small toddlers
walking long distance to go the the bathroom
squishing inside airplane bathroom
flying
sleeping in a fabric crate
strange sleeping surroundings
getting bathed in a hotel
first movie theater
in a car without a crate
being without his brother
riding a train
riding a bus

Airplane Travel Tips

Posted on April 28, 2008
Filed Under Firsts, Major Steps, Service Dog Laws, Tips and Tricks | Leave a Comment

days before an airplane trip with a service dog in training:
-send as much food to the location you are going to as you can. the postal service has flat rate boxes that hold at least a week worth of food (for a 70+ lb dog). you dont want to get stuck in your location and not have access to the same type of food that your dog normally eats. besides, i dont know anyone who wants to lug 20 lbs of food through an airport.
-give your dog his sleeping meds several days before the flight to check for adverse reactions. it is imperative that you DO NOT give your dog his sleepy pill for the first time on the flight. adverse reactions at 30,000 feet can kill. remember - pack the sleeping medication on your carry on or you will be up the creek without a paddle.
-pack at least 2 days worth of dog food on your carry on. i know its a lot of food but if you get stuck in an airport (like the delays that recently made headlines) you need to make sure you at least have food for your dog. its not like you can go and buy him a ham sandwich in an airport without nasty consequences (diarrhea/projectile vomiting/etc).
-pack a rawhide and a small container of peanut butter in your carry on. just incase your dog is nervous on the plane you want to make sure that he has something to distract him during take off and landings.
-call the airline in advance and tell them you are traveling with a service dog. now here is the important point to remember. i know you think that the bulkhead seats are great, and they are, but i recommend that you ask for the seat right behind the bulkhead. usually these are premium seats that have more leg room than those in the back plus the dog gets to place some of his body under the seat infront of him. after 18 flights with a 70+ lb lab ive found this to be true for most of the airlines. some operators will release a seat immediately and some wont. unfortunately its a crap shoot. try to be as nice as possible to the operator. remember, most of their day is spent talking with angry passengers.
-go to the vet and get your health certificate. technically they cant deny you boarding without this (unless you are flying to hawaii) but its always great to have it with you.
-make sure your doctors note is as up to date as possible. airline regulations state that it must be less than a year old.

-if you are afraid of being denied boarding make sure you have all your bases covered by having
a letter from your doctor explaining what the dog is for
a health certificate from your vet clearing your dog to fly
your dogs vaccination certificates
a service dog vest with proper identification patches
a dog that has been recently bathed and groomed (including fresh smelling breath)

Snip Snip

Posted on April 19, 2008
Filed Under Care, Firsts, Major Steps | Leave a Comment

Yesterday Liame got neutered.  Now hopefully he will stop humping his brother and the other puppies in puppy classes.  Although he seemed to be in a bit of pain, today he seems back to his old puppy self.  Darn, I was secretly hoping for at least another couple days of quiet.

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