Meeting A Hero and Trying To Become A Real Life Hero Myself

Posted on December 6, 2008
Filed Under Care, Clubs And Organizations, Firsts, Major Steps, Things That Make Me Smile | Leave a Comment

today i went to the Epilepsy Advocate conference with liame and met Greg Grunberg from Heroes, Alias and Felicity. who knew 10 years ago while watching felicity with my college friends i would eventually be able to meet one of the cast members. anyway, enough fangirling, back to the conference.

in the last couple of weeks i have decided to expand my services to helping people train all types of service dogs. i heard greg was going to be there and that it would be an intro to epilepsy. not knowing much about epilepsy or seizures except from what i had seen on episodes of House, i decided to attend to educate myself on this condition so that i could help someone train their dog to detect them. i met a number of people at the conference who were interested in my services. it was so energizing to talk to people about dog training. i now know that i was put on this earth to help others with service dogs. and although it will never make me monetarily rich, it will make me spiritually rich, the type of rich i so desperately long for.

Which Hand?

Posted on November 25, 2008
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i think liame has finally learned a little bit of self restraint so today we tried to work on the “which hand?” command. first i told him to wait. then i let him sniff one hand and then the other. i then asked him “which hand” and he placed his paw on the hand with the treat. we did this another 30 or so times with a success rate of about 90 percent. yea!!! he and i have finally figured it out! the “which hand” command has nothing to do with service dog training, i just thought it would be a fun parlor trick to train him and show off to my friends (and possibly clients) how smart he is.

I Really Can Train Dogs

Posted on November 12, 2008
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last sunday the most amazing thing happened. i finally realized that i am a dog trainer. liame would play fetch at home really well but at the dog park he would come within about 5 feet of me and then conveniently drop the ball IN THE LAKE. argh!!!! after numerous failed attempts at calling him to me in this high distraction environment, i had an epiphany, i need to somehow communicate to him and motivate him to stop directly in front of me. so, the moment he got close to me, i turned around in the opposite direction and ran away from him. this turned a game of fetch into an even better game, chase. it worked like a charm. when i eventually stopped about 20 feet from the shore of he lake, liame caught up to me and dropped the ball. we repeated the game of fetch and chase until we both were exhausted. in all honesty, i dont think i have ever had so much fun at the dog park as i did on sunday.

24 Commands And Counting

Posted on October 28, 2008
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today we learned the command “open”. having mastered the commands “take it” and “tug” we chained them together to produce “open”. this is the first opportunity i have had to chain a command. i think i like it! i want him to be able to do the “get me a beer” party trick one day to show just how special he is. so far, these are the commands he knows:

sit
down
roll over
shake
high five
bow
turn around
back up
touch
go lay down
off
leave it
take it
drop
wait/stay
come
heel (well most of the time)
thats enough
open
focus
tug
get it
nope
no

The 2 Things That Have Saved My A$$

Posted on October 10, 2008
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#1. some people think crating a dog is evil. i used to be one of those people until i read about the science behind how it replicates the den like environment that they would have in the wild. i started crate training the day i got liame. i followed all the rules by trying to make it a very pleasant environment for him to be in and tried to never used it as a form of punishment. i thought confining him to a crate for the last 3 days was going to drive both him and me insane but in all honesty it really hasnt been that bad. i let him out go to the bathroom and he goes right back into it willingly. its absolutely amazing - its like he really does like his crate!

#2. consistently training the command “leave it”. knowing that my dog was a lab and that they are notorious for putting anything and everything into their mouths i always asked for us to do a leave it session in every single one of his puppy classes. we have continued the leave it training even though we are not currently in classes. we also use the leave it command prior to every feeding so that he knows that he is not to touch his bowl until i say its OK. how it relates to this surgery is that i have been using the leave it command for when liame starts scratching his bandage or licks at his stitches. he immediately stops scratching and looks at me like, “ok i stopped, wheres my treat?”. the command was never intended to be used to stop him from scratching but somehow has transferred over to this behavior. i dont know if i would have enough self control to leave something that itches alone. how amazing is my dog?!?!

Mary McNeight, CCS

Posted on September 29, 2008
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the boss I loved so dearly was just fired today. no one really knows why. this is not good news. i hope it wasnt for helping to accommodate me. i wish him the best of luck in this job market.

we passed our test! i am now Mary McNeight, CCS. actually if you want to get technical about it, im really Mary McNeight, BGS, CCS. isnt it interesting that i havent been crediting myself with my bachelors degree from the university of michigan but am marking my name now with a CCS, like somehow my bachelors degree isnt relevant anymore? anyway… i am tracking my hours training Liame (and Jasper) and I am over half way there to qualifying for CPDT. at least I have something to fall back upon if I was to get fired too.

Another Sign?

Posted on September 26, 2008
Filed Under Clubs And Organizations, Mitigating Symptoms, Service Dog Laws, Things That Make Me Smile | Leave a Comment

here was the fortune of the second fortune cookie of the two ones i received today. this one states “you could prosper in the field of medicine”. OMG! even though I am training dogs it still falls within the field of medicine because I will be helping people attain a dog to assist them with their medical disability. spooky.

The Sign

Posted on September 26, 2008
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last night i took my canine studies exam. im pretty sure i passed.
i had a very interesting thing happen yesterday and today that leaves me excited about what could be. my mother in law sent me a link to googles 10 to the 100th contest where you can win money to start a business. i was instantly interested and started thinking about how money could turn this simple one person business idea into a full blow non profit with a puppy raising program, dog rescue, multiple trainers, advocacy, couseling and legal support for those who receive the dogs.
so here is where it got weird. not that i believe in fortune cookies but today i got chinese food for lunch and my fortune stated “an important business venture may soon develop for you”. i wonder could this be THE SIGN?

Jasper Is Famous

Posted on September 11, 2008
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Jasper and I were featured on Evening Magazine a few years ago. Here is the link to the story if you want to view it.

Jaspers Story

I originally pitched the story idea to them as a “you should do a story on psychological service dogs” and told them I would give them info about it but I DID NOT want to be in it. After they convinced me to be a part of it I thought it would be about how these dogs are used to help people with psychological disabilities but it turned it into a girl saves dog, dog save girl story. But hey, its TV and I couldnt control the final product. BTW, I was diagnosed at 21, not 29 and am in NO way CURED of this disease.

Going Clothing Shopping With A Service Dog In Training Puppy

Posted on August 24, 2008
Filed Under Clubs And Organizations, Mistakes, Things That Make Me Smile, Tips and Tricks | Leave a Comment

went to the service dog club meeting yesterday. i was again amazed at how well liame ignored the other dogs.

we also went to the mall and i tried on some clothes at a clothing store. when you go to try on clothes with a young pup make sure you get a big wheelchair access room, the floor is clean (unless you want your dog to clean it for you and swallow pins), and your dog cant dart under the door. it takes me 3 times as long to try clothes on with liame than it does with jasper. jasper would just sit there and wait until i was done, liame can only sit for a minute or so and then has to try to clean the floor, pull the tags off the garments and lick my shoes. sometimes i cant help but laugh at his antics but other times they drive me crazy!!!

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