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

[wizard-of-roz]

Hey Roz that sounds like it might work for Lucy - Labs love to eat don't they?

 

I've been giving her a fish oil tablet each day so i will switch to the Salmon Oil.

 

thanks for the tip.

 

Your welcome! Actually, the idea came from Brenda Elizabeth. She's the one who taught me how to take really good care of Labs! ♥

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!! EAT A LOT AND ENJOY!!!

[dobiemom]

[fairbourne]

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your delicious puppies, have a great holiday! :D

 

We don't have "thanksgiving" here but I'm sure we have other holidays that you don't have! We have a harvest thanksgiving festival in church which I suppose is similar to the origin of Thanksgiving in the US, but no big turkey dinner! They are safe for another month! LOL! I do love Turkey with all the trimmings!

 

We are off to our first Christmas party at an hotel this weekend - can you believe it - already!!! We are taking Aruba, so if we get bored or the music is too loud after dinner, we have a lovely excuse to leave early! LOL!

 

Aruba will have a party collar for her puppy party on Tuesday - great advice as I don't think she would like anything on her head!

 

Have fun! :D

 

Trudle - try putting some water in Pepper's dry kibble - the water will slow her down - that's what they told us to do when the pups hoover down their food. :)

[trudle]

Thanks Roz and fairbourne I certainly will try both of those things. The cupcake pan works but not enough.

 

Have a fun day everyone and enjoy family and friends.

[S.S. Cruisers]

Happy Thanksgiving, All. We are having ham.

 

I have started giving Ms. Jezzy Lou Coconut Oil. She has her bald patches on her back, again. Dogtor does not know what it is, says probably allergies. We live in farm country and the wind has been blowing for a bit now, so who knows what is blowing through. Dogtor says, not hotspots, not mange, and not execzema (sp). The coconut oil is suppawse to cure other ailments, too. We shall see. She certainly licks her bowl sparkling clean!

 

[trudle]

Thanks airborne, the water in peppers food is working and I will try the salmon oil when I get it.

Hope you all had a great Turkey day. We did. Now I can think of my up coming cruise. Enjoy your weekend.

[trudle]

That's airborne. This key board wants to do it's own thing. Lol

[Algebralovr]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (Just a day late)

 

We had a good one, and I was so proud of my DD and her pup! DH and I have been worried that she was struggling to correct Xena, but this time it seemed to be going well.

 

Yesterday, we piled in my van and drove the 100 miles to great-grandma's for dinner. Xena came along. She did well in the van, settling down nicely once the van was in motion. We got to the host (great-aunt since great-grandma gave up her home) and Xena walked inside and downstairs without jumping on anyone. She really seems to settle into "work " mode when the gentle leader is around her muzzle. We were the first ones there, and Xena was allowed to inspect the family room, have a snack, water and do her business in the yard. She also made friends with the lab next door.

 

Then the little children arrived. At 2 and 3, they are afraid of dogs. They had been told ahead of time Xena would be there, and were so afraid they had to be carried, quivering, into the house. DD'S hand was on Xena ' s harness, to make she she stayed put, but it didn't seem to be a problem. The little children were forced into the room, ran over to the other side where the toys were, and Xena stayed where she was. Yay! All afternoon, the little ones gave her a wide detour, but she seemed content to ignore them when they ignored her. The next set of kids showed up, 5 and 8, and quickly made friends with Xena. Naturally, each received a face - bath when they came over to make friends.

 

We had brought the portable kennel along, and set it up in the other room during dinner, since we figured the children would drop a lot (they did) and we didn't want her to be tempted.

 

We let her out after the small people were done eating and cleaned up after, and she did a good job laying at DD'S feet for coffee and cake.

 

I'm guessing the next step means we need to find someone to complete her training once she finishes settling down (she is not quite a year yet.) Can anyone give me an idea how much to expect that to cost? Quampapetet maybe? I'm hoping we can find someone in the St. Louis area. Xena will need the final stages of SD training as well as scent training. Our main goal is peanuts, but if we can add tree nuts or some of her other serious triggers, it would be awesome.

[wizard-of-roz]

Hi Honey, we're home. The Disney Grand Adventure Hotel is absolutely fabulous. The staff is so, so friendly and helpful. The rooms are really nice, big, fluffy comforters and monogrammed pillow cases. Every room has nice patios with great views of the pool area, the fireworks display and even some of the rides. There are plenty of restaurants and a delicious buffet to chose from,.

 

There are areas with small rocking chairs and Disney videos being played, other areas where different movies and lots of seating can be had.

 

The crowd was enormous with everyone wearing Mickey and Goofy ears on their heads, it so cute to see!

 

We saw one other Service Dog who barked at Horton and a woman [who I don't think was the handler but possibly the wife of a man in a wheel chair who I think the dog worked for] who promptly slapped and yelled at the dog. She hit the dog hard enough for my friend to hear it 50 feet away. I saw it and became so incensed that I yelled at her, "you did not just hit that dog?" I walked towards her and said again, "do not hit this dog!"

 

The dog was an elderly, Golden Retriever, not well groomed with a frayed bluish vest on. When I tried to read the wording on the vest, the woman pulled the dog away. I asked what organization the dog is from and what is the dogs name. She said the org. is "Happy Tails" and the dogs name was Sassy or Cassie. Then a younger woman came walking over and said that it was none of my business and to just walk away!!!!! I told her that anytime a dog is being hit it's EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS!!!!

 

I was so upset but I promise you I will look into this further. The gentleman in the wheel chair didn't say anything and I did walk away without looking back and didn't see any of them again, the rest of the day.

 

Besides this incident I had a wonderful time with family and friends and I hope that all of you did too!!!

Edited November 29, 2014 by wizard-of-roz

[Caribbean Chris]

Roz, what an awful thing to see. As you know, some states have laws against assaulting service dogs with penalties like jail time and stiff fines. The poor dog. I can't imagine ever hitting Raylene myself in a million years, and if someone else ever touches her in anger? It won't be pretty.

 

Glad you had such a nice Thanksgiving! We had family here, and my sister-in-law (who is going on a cruise with us in two weeks) had fun throwing the tennis ball to Raylene in our big back yard. She was shocked at how fast that Lab can run, since she's only ever seen her on leash or in the house. I started packing my clothes yesterday - off to the USDA vet on Monday to get the paperwork underway.

[DUTRAVEL]

Hi Honey, we're home. The Disney Grand Adventure Hotel is absolutely fabulous. The staff is so, so friendly and helpful. The rooms are really nice, big, fluffy comforters and monogrammed pillow cases. Every room has nice patios with great views of the pool area, the fireworks display and even some of the rides. There are plenty of restaurants and a delicious buffet to chose from,.

 

There are areas with small rocking chairs and Disney videos being played, other areas where different movies and lots of seating can be had.

 

The crowd was enormous with everyone wearing Mickey and Goofy ears on their heads, it so cute to see!

 

We saw one other Service Dog who barked at Horton and a woman [who I don't think was the handler but possibly the wife of a man in a wheel chair who I think the dog worked for] who promptly slapped and yelled at the dog. She hit the dog hard enough for my friend to hear it 50 feet away. I saw it and became so incensed that I yelled at her, "you did not just hit that dog?" I walked towards her and said again, "do not hit this dog!"

 

The dog was an elderly, Golden Retriever, not well groomed with a frayed bluish vest on. When I tried to read the wording on the vest, the woman pulled the dog away. I asked what organization the dog is from and what is the dogs name. She said the org. is "Happy Tails" and the dogs name was Sassy or Cassie. Then a younger woman came walking over and said that it was none of my business and to just walk away!!!!! I told her that anytime a dog is being hit it's EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS!!!!

 

I was so upset but I promise you I will look into this further. The gentleman in the wheel chair didn't say anything and I did walk away without looking back and didn't see any of them again, the rest of the day.

 

Besides this incident I had a wonderful time with family and friends and I hope that all of you did too!!!

 

Sounds like a wonderful time Roz. I can't imagine anyone needing to hit their dog for any reason. So sad.

 

Dianne

[Quampapetet]

That's funny - they are just like kids sometimes - if I'm not down stairs timely in the morning - the DH leaves for work around 0630 and I have another hour or so - and the dogs all go back to bed. Thing is only Aruba is housed up in her very large sleeping crate, the other two are in very nice Tuffy beds in the breakfast room. So I hear no noise whatsoever from them until Max feels I should be down getting their breakfast! He stands and shakes his collar with all his "medals" clanking until he can hear me moving around! I could set my clock, but in fact I don't even need an alarm clock with his belly clock! :rolleyes::D

 

How's your girl doing? :)

 

Too funny!! How do they handle time changes?

 

My girl is doing okay, her last two bloodwork results have been perfect, but she seems to not be feeling well the last few days. :( She hasn't wanted to eat much of her food (though she'll eat some turkey, ham, bacon, and/or eggs from this week's family celebrations) and is a bit mopey. Hopefully, it is just a bug or something - will have to call the vet on Monday if she's still not doing well.

[Quampapetet]

That's so funny! But so annoying and true. Brenda was the head butter.....she would come over to me and consistently butt her head on my leg, knee, arm or whatever to get my attention. Horton does the head shake, I finally got the tag holder thing and wrapped all his ID in it and now all that makes noise are his elephant ears as they're smacked against his head, it looks like he's going to shake his head off! :eek:

 

I can't live without tag silencers!! I use the rubber ones that go around the edges of the tag for her two ID tags (couldn't fit all the info. on just one) and a pocket type one for the rabies tag, since those come in unusual shapes that the rubber ones aren't made for. Once in a blue moon, a rubber one will dry up and cracked and fall off ... and the noise of just that one tag drives me insane!! I keep extra silencers at home, just in case.

[Quampapetet]

Poor darling! All that turkey stuff and stuffing too! I'm off to the California Adventure Hotel on turkey day to be with family and friends. Then they're all going to Disneyland........I promise I'll tell you where the documents are hidden if you don't make me go to that Mickey place! :(

 

I hope your furbaby feels better. What symptoms did she display?

 

You and I can no longer be friends if you hate on Mickey!!!! :mad: :p

 

My service dog loves Disney! I got photos taken of her meeting Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, and Tink and the other fairies ... the Tink one was for me, as she's my favorite! :D

[Quampapetet]

I'm guessing the next step means we need to find someone to complete her training once she finishes settling down (she is not quite a year yet.) Can anyone give me an idea how much to expect that to cost? Quampapetet maybe? I'm hoping we can find someone in the St. Louis area. Xena will need the final stages of SD training as well as scent training. Our main goal is peanuts, but if we can add tree nuts or some of her other serious triggers, it would be awesome.

 

Price varies from one trainer to the next as well as one part of the country to the next and how many tasks/what types of tasks need to be trained, but count on at least a couple thousand plus. I would say the range would be $2,500 to $4,000 (the lower end would be you training the dog with the trainer, keeping the dog living at home, while the upper end would be the dog living with the trainer during the training process - with allergy scent training, I am not sure if it would be safe for you to do the training at home...).

 

You don't have to wait until she is older to start the training, as earlier is actually better. I would definitely be looking for trainers now. Be sure you search for reviews/ask on service dog message boards or Yahoo! Groups for the trainer's reputation, as there are some bad ones and scam artist ones out there (just as there are scam programs, too).

[Quampapetet]

She said the org. is "Happy Tails" and the dogs name was Sassy or Cassie. Then a younger woman came walking over and said that it was none of my business and to just walk away!!!!! I told her that anytime a dog is being hit it's EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS!!!!

 

Please report this to the program! They will, hopefully, address the problem.

[wizard-of-roz]

Roz, what an awful thing to see. As you know, some states have laws against assaulting service dogs with penalties like jail time and stiff fines. The poor dog. I can't imagine ever hitting Raylene myself in a million years, and if someone else ever touches her in anger? It won't be pretty.

 

Glad you had such a nice Thanksgiving! We had family here, and my sister-in-law (who is going on a cruise with us in two weeks) had fun throwing the tennis ball to Raylene in our big back yard. She was shocked at how fast that Lab can run, since she's only ever seen her on leash or in the house. I started packing my clothes yesterday - off to the USDA vet on Monday to get the paperwork underway.

 

I so agree with you........I would seriously hurt anyone who hurt my dog!!!!

 

I love getting ready for a cruise. The anticipation is my favorite part of the planning.

[wizard-of-roz]

Sounds like a wonderful time Roz. I can't imagine anyone needing to hit their dog for any reason. So sad.

 

Dianne

 

Me either, Dianne, me either! ;)

[wizard-of-roz]

Too funny!! How do they handle time changes?

 

My girl is doing okay, her last two bloodwork results have been perfect, but she seems to not be feeling well the last few days. :( She hasn't wanted to eat much of her food (though she'll eat some turkey, ham, bacon, and/or eggs from this week's family celebrations) and is a bit mopey. Hopefully, it is just a bug or something - will have to call the vet on Monday if she's still not doing well.

 

Quam, I hope your girl is feeling better!

[wizard-of-roz]

You and I can no longer be friends if you hate on Mickey!!!! :mad: :p

 

My service dog loves Disney! I got photos taken of her meeting Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, and Tink and the other fairies ... the Tink one was for me, as she's my favorite! :D

 

I'm just joking, I love Disneyland and seeing all the characters joining us at breakfast was so much fun. I just don't have the energy to walk through the park and crowds like I used to!!! :(

 

Horton didn't think anything of the big stuffed animals walking all around and it was so cute when he and Pluto saw each other. Horton sniffed and wagged his tail like he was meeting an old friend. So cute!

Edited November 30, 2014 by wizard-of-roz

[wizard-of-roz]

Please report this to the program! They will, hopefully, address the problem.

 

Through my investigating the program, it looks like it's a "dog rescue" organization and that this dog may have been privately or self trained. I'll look further into it on Monday.

[fairbourne]

Through my investigating the program, it looks like it's a "dog rescue" organization and that this dog may have been privately or self trained. I'll look further into it on Monday.

 

This in a way makes it even worse - no hitting, no way, not ever! I hope you can find them Roz, that woman needs to be stopped. It makes me feel sick.

[fairbourne]

Aruba is now 9 months old! Can you believe it? I can't!

 

Last weekend we went to a Christmas party dinner at a local hotel and we decided to take Aruba (she would be a good "excuse" to leave early, you know what these things can turn into with some intent on drinking the bar dry - well, we do live in Scotland!).

 

Everyone was all dressed up and we had practised and practised not jumping up and I have to say she is very good at staying all four paws on the floor these days. She will sit to say "hello" and sometimes I don't even have to ask her to sit, she just plonks her bottom down!

 

Some of the people there hadn't seen her for a couple of months and couldn't believe how much she had grown. She's so long in the back and with long legs too!

 

She came into the marquee with us (a lot of hotels in Scotland, particularly those which were originally country houses for the aristocracy, do not have purpose built ballrooms, but instead have marquees which they use for weddings and functions.). It was fine but we were sat near a door and the smokers kept trailing out for a sneaky ciggie and we were in a bit of a draught .... Would be lovely in the summer though! However, Aruba came and sat right between me and the DH at the table and then fell asleep half under his chair (they had those chair covers over standard banquet chairs, so I imagine it was like a curtain for her!). She never even looked up when the waiting staff came around and I think more came around than was necessary to see her!

 

By the time we left, she'd had a good nap and we had had a good dinner! LOL!

 

Some of the people there didn't even know she was there until we left! I was so proud of her, not a cheep all evening and didn't even flinch when the very loud disco started up!

 

So today we had our first Christmas Puppy Party .... Pups from 11 weeks old to one just about to go to the training centre. We played games and our team won the Tattie and spoon race (like the egg and spoon race!). Did we cheat, NO! Well if you count holding on to the tattie, well, maybe a little! LOL! A Tattie is the Scottish and probably Irish word for potato ... As in haggis, neeps and tatties!

 

The pups all got a present from Santa Paw's little helper - Aruba got a tug hoop, well it's now almost chewed through as she and Sandy, a very exuberant yellow boy lab had a good tug with it. He got a chew dolly which he was not impressed with, not one little bit ... Bit girly for him! :eek:

 

Aunty Fab came with us and she got lots of cuddles from the little pups but she works a couple of long shifts every week, so puppy walking is out for her at the moment. But I think she would really like to do it, so never say never. She commented that she was so impressed that not one of the pups even so much as sniffed at the food we had and there were some delicious sausage rolls which I just know Max and Poppy would be asking "where's mine?" and they would have been sitting drooling!

 

Some of the pups were dressed up with their Christmas outfits, it was great fun.

[wizard-of-roz]

Aruba is now 9 months old! Can you believe it? I can't!

 

Last weekend we went to a Christmas party dinner at a local hotel and we decided to take Aruba (she would be a good "excuse" to leave early, you know what these things can turn into with some intent on drinking the bar dry - well, we do live in Scotland!).

 

Everyone was all dressed up and we had practised and practised not jumping up and I have to say she is very good at staying all four paws on the floor these days. She will sit to say "hello" and sometimes I don't even have to ask her to sit, she just plonks her bottom down!

 

Some of the people there hadn't seen her for a couple of months and couldn't believe how much she had grown. She's so long in the back and with long legs too!

 

She came into the marquee with us (a lot of hotels in Scotland, particularly those which were originally country houses for the aristocracy, do not have purpose built ballrooms, but instead have marquees which they use for weddings and functions.). It was fine but we were sat near a door and the smokers kept trailing out for a sneaky ciggie and we were in a bit of a draught .... Would be lovely in the summer though! However, Aruba came and sat right between me and the DH at the table and then fell asleep half under his chair (they had those chair covers over standard banquet chairs, so I imagine it was like a curtain for her!). She never even looked up when the waiting staff came around and I think more came around than was necessary to see her!

 

By the time we left, she'd had a good nap and we had had a good dinner! LOL!

 

Some of the people there didn't even know she was there until we left! I was so proud of her, not a cheep all evening and didn't even flinch when the very loud disco started up!

 

So today we had our first Christmas Puppy Party .... Pups from 11 weeks old to one just about to go to the training centre. We played games and our team won the Tattie and spoon race (like the egg and spoon race!). Did we cheat, NO! Well if you count holding on to the tattie, well, maybe a little! LOL! A Tattie is the Scottish and probably Irish word for potato ... As in haggis, neeps and tatties!

 

The pups all got a present from Santa Paw's little helper - Aruba got a tug hoop, well it's now almost chewed through as she and Sandy, a very exuberant yellow boy lab had a good tug with it. He got a chew dolly which he was not impressed with, not one little bit ... Bit girly for him! :eek:

 

Aunty Fab came with us and she got lots of cuddles from the little pups but she works a couple of long shifts every week, so puppy walking is out for her at the moment. But I think she would really like to do it, so never say never. She commented that she was so impressed that not one of the pups even so much as sniffed at the food we had and there were some delicious sausage rolls which I just know Max and Poppy would be asking "where's mine?" and they would have been sitting drooling!

 

Some of the pups were dressed up with their Christmas outfits, it was great fun.

 

 

 

Fairbourne, loved your Christmas story. I'm so in love with Aruba, she's such a wonderful girl. I'm going to need some big therapy when she goes to formal training! I'm not much help am I? Sorry!

 

I'm home sick today with a fever and cough. I hate to stay home on a work day......I know I'm missing something and I prefer to be in the mix of things. I'll go in tomorrow and catch-up!

[DUTRAVEL]

Aruba is now 9 months old! Can you believe it? I can't!

 

Last weekend we went to a Christmas party dinner at a local hotel and we decided to take Aruba (she would be a good "excuse" to leave early, you know what these things can turn into with some intent on drinking the bar dry - well, we do live in Scotland!).

 

Everyone was all dressed up and we had practised and practised not jumping up and I have to say she is very good at staying all four paws on the floor these days. She will sit to say "hello" and sometimes I don't even have to ask her to sit, she just plonks her bottom down!

 

Some of the people there hadn't seen her for a couple of months and couldn't believe how much she had grown. She's so long in the back and with long legs too!

 

She came into the marquee with us (a lot of hotels in Scotland, particularly those which were originally country houses for the aristocracy, do not have purpose built ballrooms, but instead have marquees which they use for weddings and functions.). It was fine but we were sat near a door and the smokers kept trailing out for a sneaky ciggie and we were in a bit of a draught .... Would be lovely in the summer though! However, Aruba came and sat right between me and the DH at the table and then fell asleep half under his chair (they had those chair covers over standard banquet chairs, so I imagine it was like a curtain for her!). She never even looked up when the waiting staff came around and I think more came around than was necessary to see her!

 

By the time we left, she'd had a good nap and we had had a good dinner! LOL!

 

Some of the people there didn't even know she was there until we left! I was so proud of her, not a cheep all evening and didn't even flinch when the very loud disco started up!

 

So today we had our first Christmas Puppy Party .... Pups from 11 weeks old to one just about to go to the training centre. We played games and our team won the Tattie and spoon race (like the egg and spoon race!). Did we cheat, NO! Well if you count holding on to the tattie, well, maybe a little! LOL! A Tattie is the Scottish and probably Irish word for potato ... As in haggis, neeps and tatties!

 

The pups all got a present from Santa Paw's little helper - Aruba got a tug hoop, well it's now almost chewed through as she and Sandy, a very exuberant yellow boy lab had a good tug with it. He got a chew dolly which he was not impressed with, not one little bit ... Bit girly for him! :eek:

 

Aunty Fab came with us and she got lots of cuddles from the little pups but she works a couple of long shifts every week, so puppy walking is out for her at the moment. But I think she would really like to do it, so never say never. She commented that she was so impressed that not one of the pups even so much as sniffed at the food we had and there were some delicious sausage rolls which I just know Max and Poppy would be asking "where's mine?" and they would have been sitting drooling!

 

Some of the pups were dressed up with their Christmas outfits, it was great fun.

 

Sounds like Aruba did really well. We have been dog sitting my son's 9 month old puppy and there is no way she would have been that well behaved You are doing an amazing job!

 

Dianne