Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!

[sunshine426]

I am torn between who the real heros are. It certainly is not me, I just get puppy kisses and doggy slobber and am happy.

 

Somedays I think the true heros are these fabulous four footed creatures who give of themselves for little more than "yes" good boy/girl and here is a bite of kibble. Who sleep on concrete floors, or in our bed next to us. Who do not judge on our appearance, or our hairstyles, or our income, but on our voices, our personalities, our needs....

 

But then again, perhaps our true heros are those whose bodies might not function at the level society calls "normal" or "able-bodied". I think the dogs would vote for option number 2 and I think they might have my vote as well.

[S.S. Cruisers]

Sunshine:

Agreed, you all are my heros. But, without you in the beginning to give all those kisses and hugs to those cute little puppies, their little lives wouldn't be as full.

Every time I whine about some silly little problem I have, I sit back and think about my CC friends and what obstacles you have to endure each and every day. You truly are amazing.

My hubby wasn't an animal person when I met him, especially cats. He didn't dislike them, just didn't think anything of them. Well first came the dogs, two dobermans, then the whittle bitty kitten. When our female dobie was 6, we had to put her down. That was the first time my hubby ever cried over an animal. He learned what unconditional love was all about. That whittle bitty kitten lived to be 21 years old. She was her daddies little sweetie. It almost killed him to have to bury her. Of course I was out of town at a doctors appointment. I knew she was getting there, but didn't think she would go down hill so fast. Anyway, another animal lover was born.

Nancy

[dvdfreakmc]

I totally forgot about carpet dog at team training. Thanks for bringing back the memory!

[wizard-of-roz]

Sunshine: Thank you!

Nancy: Awwwwwww! Great story. Filled me with tears but wonderful to hear.

Cindy & John: Not Jefferson...no problem! I think your new furbaby/best friend/"Bailee's new boyfriend/diligent working dog is.................."WEXLER."

I think that's his name.....you don't make this easy for us. Some of the names can, at best, be only good guess's. From now on we can only identify them by where they lay/sit on the lawn. :rolleyes:

We'll hear soon enough......can't wait, can't wait!

[DisneyKidsDad]

Cindy & John,

 

Hopefully the same people will be at your graduation that video taped ours. They had a table set up where you had to fill out your information to get on their mailing list. It took a few months but they sent us a fantastic video of the graduation for free!!

[rangeley]

Hello Everyone! It's day.....who knows. My head is spinning from so much info. We made it through another day with our boy. He's just wonderful. I hope I am able to tell you soon who he is and post some pics. Tomorrow night we will have him in our room for the frist time. It's going to be so exciting!!!! We also go on a field trip to Target tomorrow so that shoud be fun. I'll let you know how it goes! Bye for now

 

Cindy

[wizard-of-roz]

Hello Everyone! It's day.....who knows. My head is spinning from so much info. We made it through another day with our boy. He's just wonderful. I hope I am able to tell you soon who he is and post some pics. Tomorrow night we will have him in our room for the frist time. It's going to be so exciting!!!! We also go on a field trip to Target tomorrow so that shoud be fun. I'll let you know how it goes! Bye for now

 

Cindy

 

Enjoy your time with your new baby......Dog theory was so interesting to me....I learned so much about how dogs think and why they act the way they do, interesting stuff! It definitely has helped in caring and understanding my girl.

Keep us informed....we love hearing from you! Do you feel all "giddy", like you're bringing home a new baby (human?)

Are you allowed to have contact with "him"; such as feeding; grooming, etc.

When we were in Training, Morey was not allowed to have any contact with Brenda. He couldn't pet, feed or have eye contact with her for 3 months.....we were "bonding!" Has this changed?

He hated it, he wanted to grab Brenny and, just hug her but he wasn't allowed to.

[sunshine426]

Hello Everyone! It's day.....who knows. My head is spinning from so much info. We made it through another day with our boy. He's just wonderful. I hope I am able to tell you soon who he is and post some pics. Tomorrow night we will have him in our room for the frist time. It's going to be so exciting!!!! We also go on a field trip to Target tomorrow so that shoud be fun. I'll let you know how it goes! Bye for now

 

Cindy

 

Cindy, Thanks for keeping us posted. I imagine many are living vicariously thru you right now. Those with service dogs are reliving their camp experiences(I hope that is a good thing:))others are learning the process, and for me it is a peek into recepient world. I've had my hands on these dogs a lot, but I don't know your part of the experience. Thanks so much for sharing.

[rangeley]

Well one week down! WoooooooooooooHoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!:D:D

We have the dog in our room tonight for the first time. John has him up on the bed giving him bellies (belly rubs). Omg I'm beside myself with this little boy. He is just such a lover. So good and sweet. John had a great day today, we went to target today and had a great time. We do have class tomorrow but Sunday off. My son is coming for the day on Sunday so that should be fun. Hopefully next week I will be able to post some pics on here for you all to see, although someone has already seen some pics. And she can tell you he's a beauty!!! I'll write again soon :D

 

Cindy & John

[wizard-of-roz]

Well one week down! WoooooooooooooHoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!:D:D

We have the dog in our room tonight for the first time. John has him up on the bed giving him bellies (belly rubs). Omg I'm beside myself with this little boy. He is just such a lover. So good and sweet. John had a great day today, we went to target today and had a great time. We do have class tomorrow but Sunday off. My son is coming for the day on Sunday so that should be fun. Hopefully next week I will be able to post some pics on here for you all to see, although someone has already seen some pics. And she can tell you he's a beauty!!! I'll write again soon :D

 

Cindy & John

 

Cindy & John: Enjoy every moment with your boy......Pretty soon he'll have to face his older sister.....It may not be so easy, at first....

We had 3 beds in our dorm room, in Santa Rosa and, we'd let Brenny sleep on one of them. I spoiled her from the moment she came into my life! (I never told the trainers that I did this.....Uh! Oh!)

Tell John we all wish him our very best.

Have a wonderful day with your son and get lots of rest for the next week and then......Graduation!

Soon, you can start planning those cruises with your boy at your side!

[sunshine426]

It is so stressed "Not to let" the dog on the bed, as it is a very difficult habit to break. That is for the volunteers. With recepients it is: If you want the dog on the bed with you, fine, but it is a hard habit to break" So many recepients snuggle with their new best friends, and I am sure DO NOT REGRET IT!

Our own house dog takes the high ground: on the sofa, on the bed.... whenever I have SD's in training home. She actually rarely sleeps on the bed, but is welcome. If Mr Sunshine is traveling, she snuggles right next to me, and when I work the night shift, he says the same.

I can't wait to see pictures and continue to read the rest.

If you want to send a picture via the email: hint hint;;;; my email is ramays@charter.net

[sunshine426]

Cindy & John: Enjoy every moment with your boy......Pretty soon he'll have to face his older sister.....It may not be so easy, at first....

 

We had 3 beds in our dorm room, in Santa Rosa and, we'd let Brenny sleep on one of them. I spoiled her from the moment she came into my life! (I never told the trainers that I did this.....Uh! Oh!)

 

Tell John we all wish him our very best.

 

Have a wonderful day with your son and get lots of rest for the next week and then......Graduation!

 

Soon, you can start planning those cruises with your boy at your side!

 

OK, so unspoken truth: All the trainers I know, let their dogs sleep on the bed with them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[rangeley]

Little Miss Sunshine, Check your email :D:D:D

[sunshine426]

Little Miss Sunshine, Check your email :D:D:D

 

I did!!! Y'all are great.

[kerrytens]

Hello all.

Popping in to see if John and Cindy have announced which SD is theirs yet. I see we don't have a name yet but know the colour and sex - hmmh! Are we still guessing which one? I have 2 guesses myself after looking at the grad photo.

 

Since losing Finn, I've started to think I should get the show on the road again for Hannah. The journey of John and Cindy brings questions to mind now since every case is different. I'm thinking in terms of autism here obviously - how exactly do the trainers match you up? I seem to get the idea that you work with a few dogs in the training stage - is that true? And I assume (bad on me!) that the trainers have the dogs already picked out for your particular case?

 

My main fear is that Hannah will never get used to the dog being that physically close to her. She has huge sensory issues and never wanted my dogs close and to outsiders it almost looked like she was afraid of them. I know she wasn't because the reaction only showed up when they came close to her - she is so touch sensitive that a light brush up against her can set her off.

 

If all of you experts think that a dog could help desensitize her (amongst all of the other wonderful things it could do for her), I will start my search again. If I'm crazy to think it could work, let me know too.

 

And finally, if I haven't said it already Congrats Cindy and John! All of the grads are beautiful :)

 

Miriam

[S.S. Cruisers]

Mornin' all:

Miriam;

I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert. I am one of those people that say, you have a 50/50 chance of whatever it is you want. If you don't try, you have zero percent. If I were in your shoes, I would give Hannah a chance to see what happens. I can only hope that Hannah would see that the "dog" is hers and hopefully warm up to them. Even if she doesn't welcome them in her "space" she may be able to work around that. I am already getting goosebumps just thinking how much more her world can be opened up. I love to just sit and look at their precious little faces and wonder what goes on in their minds. Please let us know what you decide to do. I am all for it whatever it is. You are one special person that God chose to give Hannah to.

Nancy

[wizard-of-roz]

OK, so unspoken truth: All the trainers I know, let their dogs sleep on the bed with them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

Ah! Ha! I knew it! It's so hard to resist a perfectly trained, well mannered, fabulous work ethic dog, the opportunity to get off the floor and rest on a sofa or bed.

I'm glad to hear that they fall victim to the "fur", as we do!

[wizard-of-roz]

Hello all.

Popping in to see if John and Cindy have announced which SD is theirs yet. I see we don't have a name yet but know the colour and sex - hmmh! Are we still guessing which one? I have 2 guesses myself after looking at the grad photo.

 

Since losing Finn, I've started to think I should get the show on the road again for Hannah. The journey of John and Cindy brings questions to mind now since every case is different. I'm thinking in terms of autism here obviously - how exactly do the trainers match you up? I seem to get the idea that you work with a few dogs in the training stage - is that true? And I assume (bad on me!) that the trainers have the dogs already picked out for your particular case?

 

My main fear is that Hannah will never get used to the dog being that physically close to her. She has huge sensory issues and never wanted my dogs close and to outsiders it almost looked like she was afraid of them. I know she wasn't because the reaction only showed up when they came close to her - she is so touch sensitive that a light brush up against her can set her off.

 

If all of you experts think that a dog could help desensitize her (amongst all of the other wonderful things it could do for her), I will start my search again. If I'm crazy to think it could work, let me know too.

 

And finally, if I haven't said it already Congrats Cindy and John! All of the grads are beautiful :)

 

Miriam

 

Miriam, when we first arrived at CCI for Team Training, they had me work with several dogs for the first two days. On the third day we were all told who our "matched" dog would be - with a disclaimer, that if anything changed for the following two weeks of training, they reserved the right to change the "match" at any time.

Before we went to graduation with Brenda one of the trainers told me that they had pre-picked Brenda for me and had her brought from San Diego to Santa Rosa, after my second interview with them. Her temperment was very much like mine.......I thought they were nuts, boy, was I wrong.

They know what they're doing!

I have seen lots of Autistic children with their dogs, at CCI. I can also see that each child reacts differently....some keep one hand on the dogs body (all the time that they're near) and, another child would keep his foot on the dogs rear, while it layed beneath him. Then there were others who would make noises when the dog came close to them. One little boy would make a high pitched sound when his dog layed her head on his lap.....the parents said it was the first sound he had ever made.

You'll never know how it will work until you go to an interview. The trainers are very skilled with Autistic children and know exactly how to test them.

I wish you and Hannah all the best. I hope that she will find a friend in a Service Dog. Miracles can happen.

[rangeley]

Hi Everyone!!! 4 more days to go!!!!!! :D:D:D We can't wait to take our baby home. We can't wait to go home and see how things go. We had our 1 on 1 with the trainer today, John is doing great. She realizes that having another dog before has been hard for him, because of the different commands. Old habits are hard to break, but he's doing good.

 

To all of you waiting to see pics, I think Wednesday I'll be able to post some and tell you who he is.

 

Miriam, Thanks for the congrats. You'll see him Wednesday if I get the ok.

 

It's going to be a hard week but we are looking forward to showing the new edition off!!!! :D

 

Cindy & John

[sunshine426]

Hi Everyone!!! 4 more days to go!!!!!! :D:D:D We can't wait to take our baby home. We can't wait to go home and see how things go. We had our 1 on 1 with the trainer today, John is doing great. She realizes that having another dog before has been hard for him, because of the different commands. Old habits are hard to break, but he's doing good.

 

To all of you waiting to see pics, I think Wednesday I'll be able to post some and tell you who he is.

 

Miriam, Thanks for the congrats. You'll see him Wednesday if I get the ok.

 

It's going to be a hard week but we are looking forward to showing the new edition off!!!! :D

 

Cindy & John

 

I am so glad things continue to go well. I see your name posting, and I can't wait to read your post.

[kerrytens]

Hi Everyone!!! 4 more days to go!!!!!! :D:D:D We can't wait to take our baby home. We can't wait to go home and see how things go. We had our 1 on 1 with the trainer today, John is doing great. She realizes that having another dog before has been hard for him, because of the different commands. Old habits are hard to break, but he's doing good.

 

To all of you waiting to see pics, I think Wednesday I'll be able to post some and tell you who he is.

 

Miriam, Thanks for the congrats. You'll see him Wednesday if I get the ok.

 

It's going to be a hard week but we are looking forward to showing the new edition off!!!! :D

 

Cindy & John

Cindy, you make me smile!!!! :D I can't wait until Wednesday now.

 

Miriam

[wizard-of-roz]

John, keep up the good work.....Cindy, thank you for keeping us all in the loop!

Remember when you guys didn't think it was going to happen for you [this year] and, here you are!

We all are wishing you the very best! :)

Much Love and Licks,

Roz & Brenny

[sunshine426]

Ah! Ha! I knew it! It's so hard to resist a perfectly trained, well mannered, fabulous work ethic dog, the opportunity to get off the floor and rest on a sofa or bed.

 

I'm glad to hear that they fall victim to the "fur", as we do!

 

One of my favorite trainers told me abt taking home one of the dogs that was having a lot of kennel anxiety, and just wasn't doing well at all. She handles many of the "special needs" dogs, so it was turned over to her. She took this dog home for a few weeks, she said she ended up letting her sleep on the bed after the first few nights. While this dog still had some issues, she was eventually placed as an inhome companion dog for a child who had many special needs, but not for a full service dog.

 

Apparently it is a love-love situation, although I don't know if that dog is still sleeping on the bed. When I had her home at my house, she slept well on the floor by my side of the bed.

[wizard-of-roz]

One of my favorite trainers told me abt taking home one of the dogs that was having a lot of kennel anxiety, and just wasn't doing well at all. She handles many of the "special needs" dogs, so it was turned over to her. She took this dog home for a few weeks, she said she ended up letting her sleep on the bed after the first few nights. While this dog still had some issues, she was eventually placed as an inhome companion dog for a child who had many special needs, but not for a full service dog.

 

Apparently it is a love-love situation, although I don't know if that dog is still sleeping on the bed. When I had her home at my house, she slept well on the floor by my side of the bed.

 

That's so fascinating......dogs are like people, they come with their own issues/baggage and some have them instilled by unthoughtful owners or who knows what.

Brenda will NEVER stay in bed with me. She'll allow me to "spoon" with her for about 10 minutes then she'll leave and go to her couch or, she'll lay next to my DH. I encourage her to stay on my side with me but, NO, she wants to sleep with "PaPa!" And, she'll stay in bed with him if we have two separate beds, like on a cruise or in a hotel.

Her trainers think it's part of the "work" thing. She doesn't work for "PaPa" so, it's complete relaxation with him and, with me, there may be a "job" to do!!!! Who knows. And, you know what, as far as I'm concerned, she's free to do whatever makes her comfortable.

[Kate1985]

My Lessa (hearing assist) was a "hit and run" hugger. After her passing, one of my children pointed out that she had her place watching me.

 

I haven't figured out where Missy is going to come down on this.

 

This comes down to how the partners work best together. I don't think there can be a hard and fast rule.