Showing posts with label therapy dog in training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label therapy dog in training. Show all posts

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Abby's "Not Ready" Yet But We're Having Fun!

Abby had her first therapy dog evaluation on Saturday and Abby was deemed to be 'not ready' yet.   But now she and Mom have a much better idea of what they need to do to get her ready for her next evaluation.  But in the meantime, Abby will still be a 'dog-in-training' for a while!



Note from Dr. Liz here: While I knew that Abby and I'm weren't 100% ready to be certified as a therapy team, I didn't realize how far from ready we actually were.  Abby and I have spent a fair amount of time working on 'basic skills' at Home Depot, and that has been going pretty well.  However, the evaluation was at a local rehab/assisted living facility, and as soon as we walked in the door, I knew we were definitely not ready.  Abby was sniffing at everything, and far more interested in the therapy dog volunteer, the residents in the hallways and nurse with her cart of stuff than in paying attention to me.  When we went into the room for the evaluation, it took me a few minutes to get Abby calmed down enough to actually start the evaluation.  And on the first 'skill' where Abby was supposed to remain sitting at my side while the evaluator approached us, Abby sat for about 5 seconds and immediately approached the evaluator.  Which deemed us 'not ready'.    

However, they did let us do some of the other skills (getting brushed, accepting treats, and getting pet by a stranger). We did okay on the brushing, Abby was a start at accepting treats (duh.... this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows her!) and she was a STAR at getting pet by a stranger (Abby would be happy to accept pets from Jack the Ripper...).   Abby has this amazing ability to make anyone who is giving her pets and scratchies feel like they are The Best Scratchie Giver EVER.  She LOVES getting attention from people.  Which was probably her only saving grace in the evaluation, as the team evaluating us had to agree that she definitely had "it".  We just need to work a whole lot more on the skills - which, luckily, is trainable; apparently the "You Are the Best Scratchie Giver EVER" attitude is something you either have or you don't.  Which could be the only reason the evaluation team didn't ask me if I had considered getting a therapy guinea pig instead!   We have a lot of work ahead of us, but at least now I've got a sense of the intensity of the evaluation - I just have to figure out how to train Abby to not get stressed in intense situations like that.   And the training is fun bonding time for us, so we'll keep focusing on the process.

All of which means that I get to spend peaceful quality time with Dad while Mom and Abby learn how to sit and walk sedately.

In other excitement, Abby and I went to the groomer (aka "The Hair Stealers") this week.  Mom has decided that while she will groom us herself most of the time, it's a good idea to have a professional do it a couple of times a year so she remembers what we are supposed to look like.

And here we are.  Nekkid!

Hi!  We're nekkid!
We have also been spending quality time working on our frisbee techniques...

Pre-haircut frisbee antics

Nice almost-catch!  No wonder she's 'not ready'!  Heehee!


See how I levitate when I'm nekkid?

Dual frisbee antics!

More dual frisbee antics!

I run like the wind when I'm nekkid!
Nekkid therapy-dog-in-training!
As for my birthday celebration... Well, that has been put off a little longer - mostly because after Mom and Dad went bye-sickle-ing today, Mom had to go to the grocery store and it's too hot for me to sit in the car while Mom goes shopping, and Mom didn't want to go to the Magic Cheeseburger Window without me, since a big part of the Cheeseburger Experience is me being able to stick my head out the window and sniff all the lovely smells emanating from the Magic Cheeseburger Building.  But Mom assures me the Magic Cheeseburger Window Experience is coming!  I'll keep you posted!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus


Sunday, July 7, 2013

Frisbees, Ballet, Bitey-Face and Possibly More Frisbees

Heh.  We actually do more than just leap for frisbees, although you wouldn't know that from looking at Mom's camera.  I mean, we go on lots of walkies, we chase lots of rabbits (mostly unsuccessfully), we bark at people and dogs on our street, we bark at the garbage truck, we bark at stray air molecules, we stare in wonder at the mice, we wrestle on the bed (much to Mom and Dad's great enjoyment), and when it rains, we track mud into the kitchen.  See, we do WAY more than just catch frisbees.

Although we do spend a lot of time perfecting our frisbee technique.

Ho-hum.  Abby does this All Day Long.
 
And this.

A picture of grace and uh, well, she caught the frisbee and that's all that matters, right?

Yep.  I can do it, too, when Abby's not hogging the frisbee.

See?  I can levitate, too!

Wow.  Abby's kinda tall!



Yes, youngster - watch and learn.

She gets point for the effort, doesn't she?
Okay.  So we spend a fair amount of time with our frisbees.

Again!  Again!

Of course, occasionally Abby will forgo the frisbee for a little ballet.

I think she's getting ready to audition for 'Swan Lake'.
Heheheh.

Of course, we also make sure we get in some bitey-face - we wouldn't want to lose our edge!



Bitey-face is really a cold-weather sport, but we always like to engage in a little off-season training!

We also spend a little time humoring Mom with some posing.

Goofadoodle.

Why does Abby look so much bigger than me?  It has to be one of those optical illusion thingies.  Or she's a mutant.  One of the two.
It has not been ALL fun and games, however.  As you may know, Abby has her first therapy dog evaluation next Saturday, and Mom and Abby have been spending a ton of time trying to look like they are a well-behaved team, and not just a pair of doofuses.   There actually aren't any pictures of this because Mom has been too busy focusing on not being a doofus, and that pretty much takes up all her energy!  Heehee!  Anyway, Mom is looking at the first evaluation as a 'pre-test'.  She doesn't actually expect that they will pass, but is instead looking to identify the skills on which they are determined to be "not ready".  (Unless Abby - or Mom - bites someone, they won't actually fail, they will just be declared "not ready".)  Mom is hoping to come away from next Saturday's evaluation with some 'direction' for her training with Abby so they'll be a whole lot "more ready" for the next evaluation.

Which means Abby will have plenty of time to get comfortable in this...


Because Mom is all focused on not being a complete embarrassment next Saturday, she has declared that my birthday celebration will be postponed until the weekend (I turn 5 on Wednesday, but apparently there will be no trips to the Magic Cheeseburger Window until after the evaluation).  However, there is some evidence that Mom is at least thinking about my birthday celebrations...

Puppy cake!
And until such time, I'll just be bouncing around waiting for the frisbees to fly!

Throw it!  Throw it!
And, of course, I will keep you posted on the Hippobottomus' level of readiness to be let loose on the public!

Goofy or therapeutic?  You decide!
*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Back to Normal (Well, As Normal As We Get)

Heehee.

Now that Mom is back from living in the Atlanta airport seeing Granny and Grandpa, things are getting back to normal.  Or as normal as we get.

Before Mom left, she decided she would start REALLY working with Abby to prepare for their therapy team evaluation (the Therapy Animals of Utah group doesn't just evaluate a pet - they evaluate the pet/handler team - so it's not all on Abby!).  Now Mom is all "Ohmigawd!  The evaluation is July13th!  How much socialization can we cram into the next few weeks?"

Which means that Abby is getting all the doggie class time, while I get to stay home and hang out with Dad, enjoying some Abby-free time.

Yesterday was Abby's first day of "prepping" and she worked on her 'meet and greet skills'.  Of course, Abby is a natural suck-up, so the focus was to keep Abby from going totally cracker when people came up to tell her how cute she is.  Jessi (the turkey hotdog lady) even made this cool sign so people would stop by and pet Abby.

Doesn't Jessi totally rock?  Abby even has her own time on the class schedule for "Therapy Dog Prep"

Saturday morning at 11am at Petco is actually not as busy as you might think, so Mom and Abby are going to go during the week as well, after Mom comes home from work, so Abby can get used to busy stores with filled with people anxious to buy a few dog treats to placate their doggies who have been home all day while their humans have been working all day (to earn money to buy doggie treats).

However, the sign was still pretty successful, and Abby had to use all of her mentals to stay calm while people petted her (or walked other dogs by her).
 
Abby dutifully accepting pets from the nice 'Vetco' vet who was there to administer low-cost vaccinations.
There are times I think Mom is almost as much of a hambone as Abby!

I anticipate a few weeks of peace and quiet as Abby is hustled off to Petco, and Home Depot, and other dog friendly places where she can learn to act a bit more like a civilized dog.

Dr. Liz here.  While we are working with the intention of passing our evaluation on the first try, the Pet Partners people have a very rigorous evaluation process (which is a good thing) and I will not be disappointed if we don't pass the first time around.  If we are successful, that would be fantastic, but if not, it will give us both the chance to get a sense of what we really need to work on, so we'll be ready for the next time we get evaluated.  I really like that Pet Partners has such a demanding evaluation process - I'd rather we be super-ready before we are out at a site, than be worried that we're only kinda-sorta ready.   And all of the work with Abby will give Fi a break from her sister - which I think she'll appreciate!

Abby was quite worn out after her session yesterday, so I think this whole Abby-as-therapy-dog thing could be great!  I mean, she might get worn out enough that she doesn't have the energy to be so crackery all the time!  And I really don't see any downside with that.

The evaluation covers EVERYTHING, from her behavioral skills to Abby's hygiene (Mom has started brushing our teeth) and physical fitness (seriously - they won't evaluate over-weight doggies - the thinking being that since the pet is the first priority of the handler, if a pet isn't at a healthy weight, the owner should focus on getting the pet healthy before tackling therapy work - and I like the message that sends, to both owners and the people who meet the certified dogs).

So in addition to Abby's skills, Mom is continuing to ensure both Abby and I are in peak physical condition.

Yep.  Her teeth are looking great!

She looks like she's ready for take-off!

Cracker dog face.  We probably shouldn't show this photo to the evaluators!

She flies!

More physical activity.

And yes, I have my own frisbee time.  I just don't fly through the air like a crazy dog!
I love my sister.  I really do.  But sometimes I have to give her a piece of my mind when she's doing her "I'm-too-cute" routine.

She's such a suck-up!

Which is why I like to give her a big old "pfffth" when she's not looking!
Heehee!

Actually, I really hope Mom and Abby succeed with this whole therapy dog thing.  I think Mom would enjoy it, Abby loves seeing people, and I think little old ladies might actually find Abby's sucking up to be charming!

Hi!  I'm here to be therapeutic!  (Once I've passed my evaluation, that is!)



And while Abby is off sucking up to people, I can amuse myself by making funny faces!


Have a great week!  And be on the lookout for more photos of Abby learning how to behave like a civilized doggie!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus