Rosie Training Update: Changes Cause Changes

Rosie, parked on top of Mt. Battie, Camden, Maine.

Sasha's angel wings (and moving background) were given to her from a Kitty pal on Catster.

In Memory of the Late Great Princess Sasha-Ama. Thank you for being such a great cat. I wish we had had more time together, but I am sure glad I got some time.

Rosie has been dealing with a lot of changes this year... a change in family structure and routine, and as a result, she has had some problems. None of the problems are interfering with her public access privileges, however they have created some issues in training and at play. Chris got a job down in Georgetown, Maine last October. I was not able to join him, and as a result, Rosie's "Daddy" has been gone a lot. He works mostly evenings and into the night with a couple of days off. He tries to make it here to be with us some evenings, but the drive is two- hours. After a long day at work, sleep might be a wiser choice than travel. We have both suffered, Rosie and me. Chris's absence has left me more depressed and without regular transportation. I am now less active due to both of these issues. The affect on Rosie has been that it has made her depressed as well. It has made her more difficult to train and also has made her slower to respond to my commands. On leash this isn't as big of an issue as when she is off- leash and at play. Situations do arise in the forest where a bomb- proof recall is crucial. Hesitation or tuning me out until she is ready to do what I ask is not acceptable. though for the most part, she has been coming when called, she is not doing it immediately, will continue to go sniff the flowers she had meant to sniff before I called her and make her way leisurely to me. I have become more strict and less tolerant as a result of her behavior and I hate having to do that. I have made it my goal to spend more time with her either cuddling or training or playing together and less time on the computer. The blog entries will show this lapse.

Rosie continues to be obstinent and stubborn and when I back track her training and maybe work with her on lead, she does fine. I am at a loss as to how I am going to approach this training issue. I am unable to travel out to Levant for any training classes, and my money is very tight as I am back on full benefits for my disability since I no longer have Chris's income. I have foodstamps now, but no appetite. I have been having to make Rosie eat her food as well. She is not as filled in and solid as she was last year. I was so happy to have found a decent dog food that she would eat with out me pestering her and force feeding her. Now she is back to that. She will eat the cat's food, her treats, and my food without ever having a hesitation about it, but not her food. This means she is quite capable of eating her food. I have had to cut down on treats (even in training) just to get her desperate and hungry enough to eventually have to eat her own food.

I get so darn frustrated with her lately because she has been so stubborn. However, she remains a great support and my best friend, always there for a kiss or a smile (her kisses to me and her smiling!)

Our Persian mix cat, Sasha, who I got last February from the humane society died a few weeks ago. We only had her a year and I was looking forward to spending a long time with her. She had a massive coronary and died very suddenly. No suffering though we do think she didn't feel very well. This loss deeply affected me. Amazing how deeply attached I had gotten to her in a year. It was like losing a child in a way, because I did have hopes and dreams for Sasha. I am happy that I did rescue her from the shelter as scraggly as she looked at that point. I knew I could make her the princess she was meant to be, and I did. Her hair grew in, her eyes cleared up, and besides an occasional problem with allergies (she was very allergic to fleas, even using Frontline she would still get sores once in a while). I know that Rosie knows that Sasha had died. Then we get a new kitten who turns out to be Sasha's polar opposite. His name is Solace, but we call him Spawn (as in Spawn of Satan) once in a while which seems a more appropriate name for the little devil. He is a handsome kitten and will be very sought after by the females when he is fully matured. He plays quite rough with Rosie, who handles him very gently. she will put his whole head in her mouth but she never tightens a grip on him no matter what.

Anyway, I am going to continue this post later on. I have lots more to say. After this Wednesday, I should be able to say something new about Maine L.D. #289 that is supposed to "Redefine Service Dogs". At this point, Maine is at the verge of either putting themselves deeper into the dark ages, or finally updating their service dog laws so that they comply with the ADA completely. As it was left, possibility still sways towards Maine continuing to be archaic.

Support Your Favorite Local Service Dog Training Facility!

Here is Tail Waggin Training Center:

If the State of Maine's LD #289 had lived and past as written, little gems like this facility would be out of business. The nearest non-profit service dog training facility is in Portland, Maine, a good 2 hours from here (Bangor) and a good 4 hours away for those in the northern most parts of Maine. Waiting lists for these already trained Service dogs available at this Portland training facility (My Wonderful Dog) are most certainly enormous as they are everywhere else in the country. The demand for service dogs are high. There is no way that they would ever be able to keep up with the demand if LD #289 had past as written. Not to mention the cost for the disabled individual to get such a dog is higher than what it cost me to raise, train and care for my owner-trained service dog for her first 2 years (maybe even 3 years). A well-bred pup can go for about $1,200. Health checks, care and training is (for me) about $4000 (or so) a year. By raising my own pup, my dog is already tuned into my moods and chemistry and may already be able to alert before basic training is finished.

Tail Waggin lets me know about eye clinics to get Rosie's eyes CERF'd and let me know who to go to for hip checks. Since Rosie's puppy training, my need for hospital visits and stays, ER visits and doctor visits in general have gone down incredibly saving tax payers thousands of dollars. My care providers are happy. Best of all, Tail Waggin does "house calls" and will meet with Rosie and me, and do public access work with us alone. We can work on Rosie's own weak areas of training (those darn garage doors that close all by themselves!) They keep up on service dog laws and standards and preach these things to their clients so that they are responsible service dog handlers and pet owners.

Note: Tail Waggin Training Center is not responsible for ANY of the content of this blog. This blog and all of it's content is purely my fault. Heather Gerquest. If you know my email address, you may email me with any problems you have with my blog's content or use the link provided in this blog to leave me a message. Make sure that you leave your email address with your message if you wish for me to respond. If you do not wish to get a response but I want to give one anyway, I will respond with in the blog.

The Latest on LD #289

Rosie poses for me in her new purple PSD vest from Activedogs.com

The PSD patches came from the Psychiatric Service Dog Society (http://www.psychdog.org/) with

which Rosie and I are members.

The last thing I heard about the controversial LD #289 was that it was on hold due to the simple fact that people were realizing that so much was added onto the original document that it no longer was the simple doc on dog licensing it supposedly began as. There were many violations to the ADA in this document and many SD trainers and disabled handlers wrote letters to their reps. It also seems like the major add on to this document (the part about SD certification through non-profit organizations only) was added on by an individual who has a conflict of interest in this whole thing. He is on the Board of Trustees at a non-profit service dog training facility in Southern Maine which is (surprise surprise) where this document originated. If it weren't from my friend in Windsor (southern Maine), I would not have heard of this LD and the people in the Northern most part of this state would not have known about this thing.

I am a strong supporter of owner-trained service dogs (that train with assistance when needed and as necessary) and also a strong supporter of the smaller, for- profit dog training facilities that assist those of us who want to train our own service dog. They do not charge thousands of dollars more than necessary for a trained dog and are just as capable of training or assisting to train service dogs. I do not belief any one breed as superior in the service dog profession as each person may want and need something different from their dog. Each dog is an individual and any breed of dog can wash- out of the training. Some dog breeds have a higher rate of wash- out, but a person has to choose the breed wisely, looking at the pros and cons of the breed and learning how to make certain breed characteristics work in favor of the service dog tasks needed. I do believe Border Collies are the superior breed, :) but realize that they are not the breed for everyone (which goes for every breed). Border Collies do not necessarily make a great service dog though they are unbelievably smart and a joy to teach and work with. I do not believe that service dogs have to come from a special breeding program because that would mean that the choice of dog breeds available would be greatly limited (mostly to retriever type dogs). I believe that I am the best person to train my service dog, know what my needs are and know that I can do this myself and do not like the fact that this LD would take that choice away from me. I do not see how sending a puppy from foster home to puppy raiser and so forth can be very healthy or helpful if a person is capable of raising his/her own puppy. The bonding developed during this time are invaluable between puppy and handler, even beneficial in building the bond needed for some services the dog will later provide. I also recognize that disabilities come in many forms and that service dogs can assist people to live better with many types of disabilities... not just the physical or visible ones.

I know what the ADA says (the Americans with Disabilities law) and wish that the people in the government, legislature in in the law making department would learn what these crucial laws are before trying to pass bills that violate them.

Please, no matter what State, Country or wherever you live, keep up on the laws in your area. Remember that though the ADA is the same all over the United States, State laws regarding training and handling of service dogs vary per State. The ADA is supposed to preside if the State law doesn't provide the most protection, but at what cost?

Learn your laws so you can fight your fights and I pray that we all can have the energy to do so!!

Good luck training your dogs everyone!!!