Update

Grizzley's stay at his new home was very short lived. I guess he was brought back a day later with a "No, can't deal with the energy" response. So an ad was put in the paper and he is now living with a new family.

The woman runs a horse rescue and actually adopted Grizzley and Tanner (another mini-aussie from our program). Tanner went to live with her mother after she lost her husband to cancer.

Grizzley stayed with her. She has three senior dogs and Grizz is perfect for her farm. He sleeps in the bed with her daughter, has a special cow toy that he carries all around, and has a working job all day with the woman on the farm with the horses. He is incredibly happy too and has found his special place with their family. Best of all, his new best friend (other than a little girl of his own) is a Great Dane named Sam. The woman is an avid aussie lover and really understands the needs of Grizzley.

Farewell Grizzley!!

 

Grizzley's Been Transferred

When Grizzley stayed with me I had some difficulties with him that I believed were a combination of his breed and my setup. My dogs are usually in their kennels for about 10 hours a day 5 days a week. With Grizzley, it was as if he spent 10 hours winding himself up and then exploding once his kennel door was open. He did have plenty of room to run and three other dogs to play with, but I felt he was not a breed that should be in a kennel for that length of time.

Grizzley would do things that were mischievous. He would chew up almost anything he came across. He chewed up some boxes I had in the recycling bin. He chewed up my nylon grill cover. I am a BIG believer in providing as many chew things as possible but the grill cover was not on my list. He also would bypass appropriate chew toys for other things.

I felt that Grizzley was pent up too long during the day and was very frustrated because of the level of activity his breed requires and that's why he was getting creative when he had a moment to "think". He is also high energy - but again, I wondered if that wasn't because of the long hours in a kennel.

The foster family that Grizzley went to live with had a big house, two small boys to play with, another dog to play with, and 30 acres of land to run. Grizzley was on his best behavior for about two weeks.

From that point on, he was back to the same destructive behaviors, plus some new things cropped up.

As a potential hearing response dog, one of the things we work on is sounds. How does the dog react to the phone ringing, the doorbell, the oven timer, and loud noises? Grizzley did not do well with loud noises. This was a huge problem. Grizzley would need to approach the loud noise, go back to the person, go to the loud noise, and back and forth until the person stopped the loud noise. In reality, Grizzley would hear a loud noise and run and hide.

We had hoped that Grizzley's shyness would subside with some training and that his energy level would lower. His energy is so high, he has a hard time sitting still to listen to commands.

Therefore, it's with great sadness that American Assistance Dogs has decided to release Grizzley at 10 months from the program. He flew back to Georgia to live on a farm where he can just be the pet dog he wants to be. Plus, his new owner is going to enroll him in agility! That boy will win!!!

Thank you to Chrystine and her family for spending the time working with him and evaluating him for those few weeks and thank you to Suzie and her family for working with him the first few months he was in Minnesota.

Grizzley's New Training family

Welcome to Chrystine and her family!! They have taken over Grizzley's training and development. Hopefully, I can get pictures soon to post.

Grizz's New Girlfriend!

Grizzley has a new girlfriend - Cardi. She is also a mini-aussie and Grizzley just LOVES her. Cardi came to live with us to finish up some basic training so she can be placed with a hearing impaired client. The two of them play and play and play until they tire out. When they do have that quiet moment together - Grizzley cleans Cardi's face - trying to keep her beautiful all the time. As you can see, she is missing a leg. I was in Target with her doing some shopping and a little 2 1/2 year old girl came up and wanted to pet her. I pointed out that she's missing a leg and the little girl asked where it went (as she searching Cardi for it). So I told her she was born with a birth defect and after many operations, they decided to take it off. But not to worry, I told her, she can do everything any other dog can do. For example, she can run, jump on the bed, go up and downstairs, etc. The little girl knelt down in front of her, held out her hand, and said, "Shake." Cardi is missing a front leg and by golly - that's the one thing she can't do. Leave it to a child to figure that out!!

UPDATE: Cardi was also released from our program due to dibilitating shyness and continued potty training issues. She was flewn back to Georgia to live with a wonderful elderly couple who was looking for a dog to love and cuddle with. She is very loving and we are excited for her.

We are working on fetch. Obviously. He went and got the squeaky duck but then he sat down and chewed on it. He is just starting to bring things back. 

Poor little Grizzley! Actually, he is getting his kennel training. He sleeps and naps in his kennel. I have not done kennel training prior to raising service dogs. I love it! When the dogs get a bone to chew on - they take it into their kennel. When they eat, they eat in their kennel. There are NEVER food issues between the dogs. They have their own space and they use it when they need it.

Kennel training is very easy. It should take about three days tops. If you start on a Friday night - by Sunday night it'll be just about over. The first night, Grizzley whined and would bark one bark every so often. This would last about 10 minutes. Then he'd start up again in the middle of the night for the same amount of time.

The second night - the time he whined was shorter and there was only one time he barked.
The third night - he started out whining for maybe 1 minute and then I never heard from him until 5:30am.

Most people don't like to kennel train. They hear the dog whining and crying and it upsets them. I know within three days it's over so I let the dog whine and bark. This is Grizzley's space. There isn't anywhere else in the house that is only his.

Our Training Director once told me that once a service dog is placed - they can easily be taught to sleep in the bed with the client if that's what the client wants. But to do it the other way around is not so fun for the client.

Plus, I already have a dog of my own and her place is on my bed. Two or three dogs sleeping with me is not going to happen.

Here is "down". We use the command "down" for laying down and the command "off" to get him off of things or people. The two commands have to be different but they can be any command you want. With enough practice, Grizzley will be able to go "down" on command. For now, he has to follow a treat in my hand.

Training First!

Here is Grizzley practicing sit. ALL FOUR FEET ON THE FLOOR will get you a treat! 

Peek-a-Boo

Here is Grizzley playing "Peek-a-Boo" with one of my kids. She hides in the sleeping bag and calls his name. Grizzley runs to her and digs on the sleeping bag until he gets a little corner of it up. He then dives inside to get her! It really cannot be stressed enough how important it is to treat the dogs as if they are your own. Raising a dog in a kennel setting is not going to create a well rounded and emotionally healthy dog. It does make it harder to give them up when they are done with their training but to see them with thier new owner makes it all worthwhile.

Playing?

Yes! Playing. Here is Grizzley playing with Bear. It looks fiercer than it really is. 

There is nothing better than a pile of leaves!

 

Love, Love, and More Love

My kids figured out that a bone filled with peanut butter makes a great "bottle" and they can hold him like a baby while he "drinks" it. 

Here is Grizzley with one of his toys wrapped around him. He's so much smaller than the other dogs in the house so he gets more of the goofy dress up stuff done to him. 

Grizzley, a bath, and cuddle time!

Here's Grizzley after his bath. The lens was steamed up too. The kids love him because he's only about 30 lbs. and they can cuddle him like a baby. 

Grizzley's trying! He is a bundle of energy and we tried to get him to sit for the picture. Good luck!

Come and Fetch

Grizzley is understanding the command "come". I have treats by the back door and when I yell "Grizzley Come!" he runs for the back door to get a treat. All three of my dogs do that AND they always get a treat.

"Come" is a command for emergencies. If one of the dogs gets out and they are by a street or something dangerous - I can yell "Come" and they will come right to me. I may not have a treat to give them but the rewards I've been giving them over the years will pay off at that moment.

We actually have treat jars in three places in our house; by the back door, on a table at the top of the stairs, and next to the kennels.

With my dog Kiya - "come" meant nothing but "now I have to go inside." She never came to that word. I started giving her treats everytime she came inside when I yelled "Come!" and now she comes everytime.

Grizzley is excellent at fetch. He picks up things all the time and carries them around until another dog takes it from him. He loves to retrieve back to you something you throw. We try to throw as many different objects as we can; fake cell phones, reading glasses, empty pill bottle, various kids toys, etc. Really anything but dog toys. He fetches those great. It's the things that dogs usually get scolded for that we work on.

Plus with fetch, we NEVER scold the dogs for anything they pick up - even if it's something they aren't supposed to have. We ask them to bring it to us and when they do they get a treat. If they were destroying it - then we'd probably scold them but picking things up is wonderful!

Progress so far

Grizzley has definitely gotten aquainted with all the people and animals in our house. He knows the layout of the house and if comfortable. Now we start with basic obedience. Our Training Director already taught him sit so he knows that well. I just taught him "down" which is lay down. He follows a treat for now but will eventually figure out how to do it without one. First I put him in a "sit" and then slowly move the treat to the floor letting him follow it with his nose. He has to lay down once he reaches the floor. Then I say "down". Grizzley has an amazing attention span. We practiced this along with sit for almost 1/2 hour. That's rare for a 14 week old puppy.

Grizzley jumping off the steps - LOVE the ears!

Grizzley Meets Cookie

Here is Grizzley meeting our kitten "Cookie" (short for Cookie Monster). Within one week the two of them chase each other periodically. Cookie has caught on to the run and chase game. While Grizzley is busy doing something like chewing on a bone, Cookie jumps from something high and lands in front of him. Then she takes off at full speed across the room jumping back onto something high. Grizzley gets so flustered when this happens. He jumps up and tears off after her every time. When she jumps up to safety, she looks down at him with a laughing glance. It's a different version of the Charlie Brown and Lucy football game. NOW what Grizzley needs to learn is the "leave it" command. Being introduced to other animals is a part of this training because we don't know if the new client will have other pets. These dogs need to be able to behave themselves - at least with cats because they are the most common.

Thunder Storms and Rain

This is one of those training experiences you just have to wait for and take advantage of it when it comes. Grizzley got to experience a VERY loud thunder storm. He would listen to the thunder but didn't react at all. When the rain died down to a sprinkle we went outside. He went to the bathroom in the rain (this can be a huge problem) and then he played with the other two dogs. He doesn't have a problem being in rain at all. These are pictures of him after coming in.

Public Visits so far

CHILDREN: Grizzley went to the daycare to pick up my child. They were all playing outside which was good. Some of the kids came over to see him but most of them didn't even know he was there. At this age, he's very unpredictable with children.

NON-WORKING WALKS: He's been on a few walks outside. We usually take him down to the corner and back (about 4 houses away).

LARGE GROUPS OF PEOPLE: I took him one time to church while my kids were in choir practice. He did really well heeling next to me. I was amazed that he knew to do that. I would say "heel" and he would slow down and get right next to me. We also practiced retrieving in an empty side hallway. Grizzley does fantastic with retrieving. So far, he has always brought the object back to me. Then the kids got out of choir and the hallways filled up so I picked him up. What a people magnet! We spent the next 20 minutes talking about him to different people and answering their questions. He LOVED every minute of it. He licked the faces of the teenage girls as they petted him. They of course thought he was so cute!

VARIOUS FLOORING SURFACES: Yesterday, I took him to a hotel. We walked on asphalt, then sidewalk, then marble, then a rug, then marble, then carpet. He did great until we went to leave. He had a hard time walking on the rug by the door. I remembered from being at work with him that if I waited he would all of a sudden decide to cross it. It's pretty funny. He did great with the kids that were there swimming and all the water noise.

CAR RIDES: He's wonderful in the car. He wanders around while I'm driving and then he finds a place to lay down. He doesn't whine or get car sick. YES!

First Public Visit

One of the first places he went was my work. He had to cross a vent in the middle of the floor and he put his brakes on. He would NOT cross it. One training piece is to take them over as many different floor surfaces as possible. It's surprising when you have a dog that will not go onto a certain type of surface. We start this young so they get used to different flooring.

Here's another close shot. He is very hard to get a picture of because he runs constantly. 

Here is a very close up picture of Grizzley. His eyes are so sweet.  

Here are all three dogs of the house. Kiya (on the left), Bear (center), and Grizzley (on the right). 

Here is Grizzley getting acquainted with Bear (another service dog in training with American Assistance Dogs). If you look closely, both dogs are in the air. 

Meet Grizzley

Meet Grizzley. He was 13 weeks at the time of this picture. He traveled to Minnesota by plane in the cargo section of Northwest from Georgia. He is a red and white Mini-Aussie.