September 11, 2012

This week my focus is on three things. One, my 21 day yoga fitness challenge starts Monday, September 10, Two, it is Fall clean up at my house. Time to dust, mop, clean out the refridgerator and microwave and oven, clean up dog hair and vacuum, and go through stacks of papers, bills, and junk, and get organized. Three, it is time to commit to spending time daily, training Luke for mobility work, as his new mobility harness is due to be shipped this week, and the retrieve, teaching it from backwards onward, teaching give, hold, take, bring it, go get it, etc.

This week I am having a dear friend offer to help me in many ways. For one, she is coming over to help me with housework. Also, she is helping me with the presentation of my current fund raiser for Luke's professional training and veterinary expenses. We went to see Dr. McQueary in Butte and got an estimate for x-rays of hips and elbows, sedation, and examination to clear him medically to do mobility work. The quote is right at $300, unless he needs anything extra, like treatment for an ear infection for example. My friend, Tasha wants to do a new fund raising flyer for prospective sponsors with pictures of Luke in his new mobility harness and description of our financial needs regarding training and vet bills. Basically, I am waiting to hear back from my dog trainer in Whitehall, to provide me with a "training contract" which will include the estimated cost and training time needed in order to have Luke pass both the AKC Canine Good Citizen test and the ADI Public Access Test, along with the training required for mobility work in his new harness, providing me with counterbalance and brace work, as well as a formal retrieve, picking up things I've dropped, such as his leash, my wallet, mail, a pill bottle, my fork, my pen, my gloves, etc.

We are hoping to get that training done with Patti, at RDTAG in Whitehall, in the next few months, provided we can get the funds for it. Additionally, Luke is signed up to take his first of three levels in C.L.A.S.S. (Canine Living and Social Skills) with Joni Wissinger of Clancy, Montana, starting at the end of September or early October, hopefully going from one 6 week course to the next, until he has graduated with his Doctorate in C.L.A.S.S. (He will get his Bachelors for the first level first) Ms. Wissinger is also an AKC evaluator and can probably do the CGC testing as well. Also, I believe she teaches a class on "loose leash walking" which is something I'm interested in to aid us as a working mobility service dog team. I have begun introducing clicker training with Luke, using very small training treats and reinforcing some basic commands that he already knows, like "Sit", "Down", "Shake", etc. I am also working on making his "Come Front" closer (toes to toes basically) as he tends to sit about 4 feet in front of me now. I am also using the clicker to train for eye contact, or "look here" for treats, rather than looking at my hand or the bag of treats. I want to train for eye contact while walking beside me as well, especially as his default behavior during a distraction, like another dog, or an approaching person, or other unexpected events.

This week should be a good week for getting packages in the mail. With the success of my fund raiser, I was able to purchase everything I need for Luke. The custom made black leather, sheep skin lined harness will come with an attachable, red, reflective vest/cape with pockets, a clip on tag that says Service Dog, DO NOT DISTRACT, a new easy grip, leather 30 inch leash, the ergonomic handle with the bridge sign on it that says "Mobility Assistance Dog" Please Ask to Pet, easy pull pins to put the handle down flat if needed, a new chest plate with an extra D-ring attachment in the front, and some other extras. I also ordered some patches for the red cape attachment, a leash slide that says Service Dog on it, a custom, round patch with a picture of a mobility German Shepherd on it that says "Service Dog, Luke" on it, some law cards with the ADA information on them, a picture  ID card with Federal and State laws on the back, an ID wallet to keep the ID and law cards and my emergency medical information for the zipper pocket on the cape, a short red and silver chain traffic lead, a new medical alert dog tag with my phone number on it for Luke and a medical alert bracelet for me to wear, a round emergency pin that says "In case of Emergency, Transport Dog with Handler",  an extra zipper bag for poop bags, medication, a collapsible water bowl, and possibly money,  keys and cell phone. The harness also comes with a leather strap for pulling up hill or providing momentum up stairs etc. Luke also has a new wide, hand crafted, leather collar hand made by Brooke Hargarther that has rhinestones on it surrounding a big silver name plate that says Service Dog LUKE, and Call Amy and my phone number on it. It looks really nice on him too. I can't begin to express how thankful I am to the people that contributed to the fundraiser for the harness and equipment, bought raffle tickets and donated to my online Chipin site, and passed the word along on Facebook and their own web sites about my financial needs. I was able to purchase everything I need to outfit Luke properly. Now we are looking at trying to raise the money for his training and veterinary expenses. I don't have a total on that yet, but I have set up a new chipin site for the vet bills, and every dollar makes a huge difference when you are raising money.
The link to my chipin page is  http://amyregan.chipin.com/vet-bills-for-my-service-dog
I think this is the widget embedded code. (haven't tried html before) For my yoga fitness challenge, I want to be able to post my updates on here as well.