What Is That Creature?

This calls for a serious drink of water

A few days ago, SSD Scarab encountered a really weird creature as we were returning to the office from a walk. As we walking down the alley, Scarab came across a human! So weird!

And he barked at the weird creature.

Granted, this particular human was sitting on the curb, taking a smoke break. When I think about it, this might be the first time Scarab has ever seen a person sitting on the curb in that alley. And when you're a 4-month-old puppy, a human sitting on the curb where you would least expect it is weird.

Now, Scarab is a really good puppy. He's very calm and usually takes things in stride. He also has excellent attention on me. Since I got him, we've been working on looking at me whenever there are distractions in his environment. He's gotten really good at it. When he sees something he thinks is interesting, he'll look at it, but then look right back at me. If it's really interesting, I might have to say his name, but then he'll look at me.

So when we encountered this really weird creature, I immediately tried to get Scarab's attention. Like the good puppy he is, he looked right at me. I clicked and gave him his treat. However, as soon as we started walking back toward the strange creature, he stopped and barked. I got his attention again and we started moving forward. Of course, he barked again.

At this point, I realized I had some decisions to make. If we continued on our current course, we would need to walk right past the weird creature. Scarab had already clearly told me that he's going to bark the closer we get. All he would learn in that situation is to bark at things he doesn't understand.

Option 2 was to turn around and go back the way we came. There were other ways to return to the office that didn't involve walking past the weird creature. If Scarab had been so worked up that he was beyond thinking, I probably would have chosen this option.

But Scarab was still capable of thinking. He was still turning back to me immediately after I said his name. It was only when we walked toward the creature that he barked.

So I chose option 3--show him that the weird creature is, in fact, a human.

Now, I should clarify that the man sitting on the curb is someone who works in the neighboring building. I've talked to him before, so he was not a complete stranger. I also asked him if he would be okay if I brought Scarab over to see him. So I wasn't just taking my dog over to a random person in an alley.

I also didn't just walk Scarab right over there since he would bark as we got closer. I wanted a nice calm dog, so instead, we turned around and walked back to what Scarab deemed the "safe zone." This was the distance from the weird creature where Scarab decided he could see him but didn't need to bark at him.

At this point, I simply clicked and treated Scarab for looking at the weird creature but not barking. After about 5-6 clicks and treats, Scarab just sat and looked at me, so we took a step forward. He again looked at the weird creature and I clicked him for looking but not barking. We did this for the next few steps, and then he was able to walk calmly next to me on a loose leash--with lots of clicks and treats--all the way to the weird creature.

Normally, puppy raisers aren't supposed to let their dogs just go up to people to say hello, but since Scarab had been a little fearful, I let him sniff and investigate so he'd know there's nothing to worry about.

And guess what? Scarab's little tail started wagging and then his whole body started wiggling and while he was being petted he turned to me as if to say, "Hey! Hey, did you know this thing is really a human! Who knew? This is awesome!"

I could have taken Scarab inside after that, but I wanted to really capitalize on this learning experience for him. I thanked the man and told him Scarab and I were going to go back the way we came and walk past him again, but this time we weren't going to stop.

I took Scarab back to that original safe distance and we started walking toward the man again. Scarab stayed right next to me on a loose leash and barely even glanced at the man as we walked by him. Success!

I hope this experience helps Scarab learn that people are still people, even when they're sitting on the curb.

Go away, It's naptime. 

Puppy stole old man Fire's bed

Get in the Car!

One of the few photos I have of Doppler sitting

I made bacon-wrapped dates today. If you come to Susquehanna Service Dogs’ Graduation Ceremony tomorrow, you just might get to have one.

Speaking of food, Doppler now has a new location for his meals: the car. He’s absolutely convinced that he’s a small dog and refuses to jump in the car. He’s not a small dog. He has big paws and a solid, stocky body, and I can tell you from having to pick him up and get him in and out of the car that he’s getting heavy. And that’s precisely why he’s getting his meals in the car. I’m trying to get him to jump in and out of the car.

Amanda, Susquehanna Service Dogs’ training coordinator, suggested putting his food dish in the car so he has to hop in himself to eat. Brilliant idea! Labs love food, and Doppler pretty much loses his little mind at meal time. Sure, he sits calmly until I give him the okay, but in the time before he has to sit, he’s running around in pure, food-motivated joy.

So when I took Doppler and his full food dish out to the car this morning, I fully expected him to hop right into the car and chow down.

Wrong!

Oh, don’t misunderstand. Doppler went right up to the back seat and stared at his food with his little nose quivering. But then he plopped his butt back on the pavement and just stared at me. I tried using a super happy voice. I tried moving the food closer to the door on the seat. I even tried putting the dish on the car floor, thinking it would be easier for him to jump up to the floor rather than the seat.

Nothing.

Finally, since I had to get to work, I scooped him up and plopped him in front of his food dish. He chowed down happily.

Fast-forward to dinner time. Since I had nowhere to be, I decided to just wait him out. At some point, he was going to get up the gumption to get in the car to eat his dinner. I put the food in the car on the seat. He stepped toward it. I thought, Yes! He’s going to do it!

Nope.

Another nope from Doppler when I moved the food to the car floor.

Then inspiration struck. I balanced the food dish on the edge of the car so he could reach it from the pavement and told him “okay.” I let him get a few bites in, then moved the food dish onto the floor of the car. Well, little Dop had already tasted the manna that is dog food, and he wanted more. He put one paw tentatively in the car, then another one. Then I saw him lift his back paws. Yes, yes, yes! He was in the car all on his own!

I’m pretty sure my neighbors thought I was nuts because I suddenly burst out with “Good boy! Good puppy! Oh, you’re such a good boy!”

Total party time.

I made little Dop get out of the car on his own, too. I threw a small handful of treats back in his food dish and put it on the pavement, then told him “okay.” He hopped out as if he’d been doing it all his life.

Here’s hoping that with a few more meals in the car, I won’t have to pick him up anymore.

I think he looks like a little puppy again here.

From Lemon Cookies to Puppies

On February 12, I took lemon sugar cookies to a party and came home with a puppy. And now, starting on Monday, that little puppy is going to be a part of my life for the next two years. I will be raising SSD Doppler as a service dog for Susquehanna Service Dogs.

I’m a volunteer with Susquehanna Service Dogs. Technically, I also work with them, since I’m the web writer for Keystone Human Services and SSD is one of our programs, but when it comes to this puppy, I’m a volunteer. Wednesday was Dessert with the Dogs, a potluck puppy class so the dogs can get used to waiting patiently under the table while their handlers eat. Although I wasn’t raising a puppy at that time, I decided to go to do some live social media. Naturally, I took something to share. (Lemon cookies, if you care.)

As soon as I walked in the door, Becky (SSD’s puppy coordinator) asked me if I wanted to take a puppy home. Take a puppy home? Um…yes! I ended up taking little SSD Doppler home. As I was bundling him into the car, Amanda, the training coordinator, said, “You can raise him, if you want.”

For the next two days, the idea kept rattling around in my head, despite the fact that I have never raised a puppy before.

I didn’t grow up with dogs. When my two brothers and I were kids, the only pet we had (not counting some unfortunate goldfish) was a rabbit named Thumper. Thumper lived in a homemade hutch outside, and although we had a harness and leash to take him for “walks” around the yard, he certainly didn’t give me any experience raising a dog.

Then on March 3, 2010, I got SSD Fire, my first dog ever. (Yes, I know the exact date.) He was already 3 years old and a breeding dog for SSD. (He’s now retired as a breeder, after fathering more service dog puppies than I can count.) I learned to speak dog and trained him as a demonstration dog for SSD. He can open and close doors, turn on light switches, pick things up, alert to sounds, and find my keys, no matter where I hide them. But because he was already fairly well trained and house trained, it wasn’t very difficult to train him.

Now, after spending two full days with little Doppler and with some expert convincing by Becky, I’m going to be raising a puppy. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. (I think Becky knew exactly what she was doing when she asked me if I wanted to take a puppy home for a few days.) So now I’m going to have to learn to speak “puppy,” which I’ve already learned is not the same language as “dog.” Luckily, Doppler comes with a handy training manual from SSD. (There are 179 pages. I’ve been reading it like mad.)

My observations so far:

1. Puppy teeth are sharp. Like needles. Lots of tiny needles. I'm already counting down the days until they fall out. Doppler and I will be working very hard on gentle treat taking. 
2. Don't blink around puppies. They can wiggle into small places and disappear. Doppler and I will be working on recalls immediately. He already comes tripping over his feet when I say, “Puppy, puppy, puppy!” 
3. Doppler is too stinkin’ cute. Really. He has a little wrinkly face, big floppy ears, and legs like small tree trunks.  

I’m going to be raising Doppler and blogging about our adventures. He’s a Labrador retriever and was born on December 21, 2013. He’s part of the Weather litter and his siblings are named Fahrenheit, Drizzle, Breeze, and Flurry. I will be co-raising him with Becky until June, and then I'll be all on my own. If all goes well, Doppler will become a service dog and change someone’s life.

So put him on your radar, (Sorry, that was terrible, but I couldn’t resist. I promise it won’t happen too often.) and follow along as he grows.