Day 12

Well today was the day Panga and I had been training for.  The Public Access Test.  This consisted of a trainer observing us doing a variety of tasks with the service dogs to make sure they were safe and appropriate to be certified to work in public.  Everything from making sure I had control of Panga at all times, corrected her when needed and her respond appropriately after correction, etc.  She did awesome.  I was a nervous wreck.  We also had to sit in the food court for 30 minutes with her in a "down" and make sure she didn't make any attempts to bother anyone around us who was eating.  She was awesome once again.  She just napped the whole time.  I was then told by Jeremy to go to 4 Paws to fill out the paperwork which was code for "you passed". 
I filled out paperwork, got Panga's new collar, tags, medical history and certification card showing she is a service dog.

After the paperwork, Panga and I ran to the hotel to get Chris and the boys for graduation.  Graduation consisted of introduction of the 4 Paws staff, volunteers and families.  Once that was done, each family was called up one at a time for pictures.  Then it was time for cake and saying goodbye.  Panga's college student who fostered her was not able to make graduation as she is in Georgia now.  We understand why she couldn't make it, but wish we could have met her and she could have seen Panga with the boys.  Luckily, her and I are connected on Facebook and she's been able to follow our journey and see the pictures.

After graduation, I brought Panga and the boys back to the hotel and Chris and I started packing things up.  We got the carrier on top of the van loaded. It's not as good as my Dad had packed it when we left Terre Haute, but I think it will get us home.  I hope so anyway. :)  We don't have as much to bring back, but we do have Miss Panga and she will take up the room we had on the way to Ohio.  We will just stuff things where we can and head out by 11am.  It still seems surreal that we are done with the two weeks.  I keep thinking we have tracking or something tomorrow, but we are done.  She is certified to work with both boys in public.  Kasen has an EEG we will be scheduling and Panga will be able to go with him and help calm him as I know his anxiety will be through the roof.  This is why I hadn't scheduled it yet, I knew Panga would be beneficial for that appointment.

The next post I write will be how our return home went and what Panga thinks of her new home.

During the food court part of the test

No test anxiety for this girl

During graduation, Kasen was struggling with the noise and amount of people.  Panga helped him through it.

After graduation.  She is growing on Levi.

This is where Panga has slept most of the time with us.  In front of her is Kasen asleep in the living room. Behind her (to the right) is Levi asleep in the bedroom.  She knows she is watching out for both boys.

Day 11

Today we tracked in the morning and Panga did awesome finding her boys!
I then took the boys back to the hotel and I went back to 4 Paws for training.  We worked on everything that will be on our Public Access Test tomorrow and then Jeremy and Jennifer talked to us about the paperwork we will be doing after the test as well as what to expect when going home.  We will have graduation tomorrow afternoon where the foster parents of the dogs get to come celebrate with us and say goodbye to the dogs.  I was also able to give Panga a bath today before we left 4 Paws.  She wasn't overly thrilled with it, but did well.

Panga and I will have our test at 10am at the mall and, assuming we pass, we will go back to 4 Paws to fill out our paperwork at 11:30am. 

Here's hoping she's a rock star again and we are able to pass.

Day 10

The day started off with tracking . Chris and the boys hid and Panga was a rock star at finding them.  Very little distraction.  So proud of her!  It is absolutely amazing to watch her head snaps now and being able to tell when she's got the boys scent and when she doesn't.

After tracking, I took the boys back to the hotel and went to 4 Paws with Panga and we worked on behavior disruption, "back" and "stand" Once we got through that, we broke for lunch and then were to meet at the mall.  I went and picked up Chris and the boys and headed to the mall.  I had Kasen tethered and walked with Jeremy for our obedience part.  He was able to give me some tips to help keep Panga focused on me and not so much on Kasen.  We then waited for our turn to track.  We ran 3 tracks.  One in the store and two in the mall itself.  She did great finding her boys each time.  Her and Kasen then were able to ride the train.

Of course, when it was time to leave, Kasen again struggled.  He wanted me to leave him at the mall.
After dropping them off at the hotel, I ran to pick up supper.   We were under a tornado warning so it was suppose to be a very quick trip. Less then 5 minutes from the hotel.  I ended up locking the keys in my van.  I was able to get help from another family.  They let me hang out in their hotel room, helped me locate a locksmith and drove me back to the van and sat with me until I was safely back inside it.  All of this in pouring down rain, some hail and a tornado warning.  Luckily, once the locksmith arrived, it was unlocked quickly.

Tonight is the last time Levi will be 8 years old.  Tomorrow I have a 9 year old. :)

Kasen pretending to be a dog at the mall

Levi and Panga

Levi and Panga playing

Day 9

Panga waiting on Levi to wake up

This morning started with tracking.  When it was our turn, Chris took the boys for a walk.  Then it was Panga's time to find her boys.  She did okay, but got distracted a lot.  Jeremy says we need to have a bigger party at the end of the track. Something that makes all the distractions uninteresting because all she wants is to get to her party at the end of the track...which is where her boys are.  I practiced in the hotel room with her and Kasen.  Kasen is not the best assistant as he would come out of hiding before she could find him.  It was cute and it kept Kasen entertained for quite a while.

After tracking, I took the boys back to the hotel and I went to 4 Paws for training.  We worked on "under" and "place".  We also worked on "roll over" and "side".  We could have her play dead, but doing the whole gun motion and telling her to play dead would have ended up with Kasen doing it obsessively to anyone and everyone and that's not something we want.  So, insead, we have him tell her to "go night night" and she lays down.  We also worked on off leash commands and Panga did not do well.  Her and I need to work on our teamwork because as soon as the leash came off, her listening ears turned off too.  I know it will be easier once we get home and I can work with her without my little assistant.

After class, I took Panga in the play yard and threw the ball for her a few times.  She loved it and it helped use up some of her energy.  We can't play ball at the hotel since she stays on a leash outside the room and I wouldn't dare let Kasen play ball with her in the room. lol

When I got back to the hotel, Kasen was hyped up and Levi was upset.  Took awhile, but Levi finally calmed down and Kasen was hyper until he finally fell asleep.  4 more days until we head home and hopefully back to our regular routines.

I also practiced seizure alert this evening and had Chris take a video.  I did it while Kasen was "hiding" from Panga because, otherwise, Kasen would have started doing it just to make her bark and that's not something I want to get started. This is an extremely condensed, fast version since once she barked the first time, Kasen said "what's that?", we had to hurry and wrap it up.  lol  I can do this standing, on my knees and sitting and she barks each time.  I haven't tried laying down yet, but am sure I will in the next few days.

Day 8

Here we are at day 8.  There are moments where I think of how nice Ohio is and that I wish we could stay longer and other moments where I am homesick and can't wait to get home and back to our routine.

Today we took the boys to track at the park.  I got to handle the retractable leash with Jeremy following along and advising as we went.  My biggest hurdle is waiting until Panga gets to the end of the leash and gives me a signal of which direction we are going in before I take a step.  I really have to work on this.  Once she got the boys' scent, she did really well and found them quickly.  I'm still amazed by this. 

After the park, we took the boys back to the hotel because Kasen was having a meltdown.  It was one of the worst ones he has had.  Luckily, he calmed down before I needed him and Levi again.
At the center, we worked on practicing tethering, giving verbal and hand signals and seizure alerting.  Panga was trained in seizure work, however, Levi does not have any active seizures other than the staring off (Petit Mal seizures).  Panga will probably not alert to those.  But, if he would start convulsing, Panga should bark.  I'll try to take a video of this.  She is awesome at it. 

After the center, I went and picked up Chris and the boys and we went to the mall.  Chris walked the boys around while I worked on heeling with Shelby.  Once that was over, we waiting for our turn for inside tracking.  Chris hid with the boys twice while I tracked with Panga and she did awesome.  She finds them quickly every time and I am extremely grateful for this skill.  After we were finished tracking, we went to see the train ride again and Panga, Kasen and I went for a ride.  Panga was not thrilled with getting on, but enjoyed it once she was on.  Kasen was a whole other story.  He was not tethered and ran away from us.  Chris had to chase him.  It's the first time Chris has seen him run off like that.  He's done it to me before.  We got Kasen tethered and he went into a tantrum.  He was overwhelmed, overtired and we needed to get out of there.  He kept going dead weight on Panga and I wasn't sure how to work through that.  I know how to work through him trying to pull on her, but him dropping to the ground was new.  Luckily, Jeremy was still at the mall and I asked him what he would suggest.  He said that he doubted I wanted Panga to drag him through the mall (at that point, I didn't care how we got to the exit lol) Jeremy told Kasen to hold onto the tether strap so Panga didn't get lost and he did for about 20 steps, then he dropped again.  Jeremy reminded him he needed to hold on so we didn't lose Panga and Kasen again hopped up and held on.  Jeremy walked us to the exit and we made it to the van. 

We then hightailed it back to the hotel and got the boys back in the room.  I then worked with Panga on the hotel property doing her commands and seizure alerting.  She does really well but distractions are still an issue.  I have to remember to take the really good treats next time to motivate her.

Other than Kasen's tantrum and running off, today was a pretty good day.

Day 7

This morning we went to track at the mall.  The mall wasn't open yet because it was Sunday so we tracked outside the mall.  I tethered Kasen to Panga and he wasn't thrilled with it, but he tolerated it.  Panga did awesome keeping him anchored.  A car drove by at one point and Kasen pulled against Panga.  Had he done that untethered, he would have been in the car's path.  He's starting to run off from me more and more so tethering came at the perfect time for us.  Kasen also has a mini leash that he can help "walk" Panga to keep him close.  He loses interest quickly, though, so tethering will be used also.

Kasen was struggling with behaviors tonight.  He finally calmed with Panga laying beside him and they watched TV together.

During the tracking, Levi stayed in his chair and Chris took him and Kasen to hide.  I handled Panga's leash and Jeremy talked me through it.  The first time, Panga did well but was distracted by the new smells a bit.  The 2nd track, I could tell she knew where she was going.  She found her boys quickly.  I was even more amazed because I hadn't heard where Jeremy had sent them, so I was honestly following Panga's lead on this one. 

We then went to 4 Paws and the boys got to play on the playground while I trained with Panga.  Then we broke for lunch and Panga and I took the boys to the hotel then went back to 4 Paws.  Once there, we worked on tethering again and practiced "nuzzle" and "touch" which are both behavior disruption techniques.  Panga does both well.

Day 6

I'm getting a bit behind.  To be honest, I'm exhausted by the time to boys go to bed after being at training all day.  Yesterday I took Kasen to track because Levi fell asleep right before we left the hotel and he is not one you want to wake up once he falls asleep.  Kasen was extremely hyper and ornery and I was an emotional mess.  I love the training class we are in.  There is definitely a wonderful bond there.  I made a request for someone to hide with Kasen so I could track him since Chris stayed at the hotel with Levi.  Multiple parents told me not to worry, that someone would hide with him.  Addie's Mom ended up taking Kasen for me (after giving me a hug) and hid with him.  Panga was a little distracted by the freshly cut grass, but she found her boy!  I am amazed every time she does it.

In class we practiced tethering so that we will be able to hook the boys to Panga to keep them from running off.  We also practiced "lap" and "over"  Both are used to help with behavior disruption.

Practicing "Lap"

Panga wanted to cuddle with me this morning for a bit.

Day 5

I can't believe that, in a week, we will be getting ready to head home.  This week has gone really fast and been exhausting also.  Today we worked on tracking in the morning.  Both boys went with Chris and hid and Jeremy (the training supervisor) and I ran the track with Panga.  We had two extras following along and once or twice Panga got distracted with us running behind her, but she did end up finding the boys fairly quickly even with pausing and losing the scent at one point.  Levi wasn't feeling very well so I took the boys and Chris back to the hotel right after our track.

Panga and I then went back to the center and worked on "under" and people walking up to the dogs trying to distract them out of their command.  We also worked on someone walking past them with a shopping back full of pupperoni treats.  Panga did great at first but then started getting curious of the shopping bag.  A few corrections and she was heeling perfectly again.

After a break, we then went to the mall.  She rocked it.  I was so proud of her.  We did have multiple people come up to us while there.  I was impressed that everyone asked before petting her.  One lady got a little excited and started to pet her before I could put her in a command.  I just politely told her I needed to have her sit first and the lady waited.  Panga did awesome staying in command and only had to be corrected once when a little boy was petting her.  When we are out in public, it is completely our decision whether we allow people to pet her or not.  We can specify that she is working and to not pet her.  We will take it on a case by case situation.  There will be times that we need to get in and out of a store quickly and I will not be able to stop for everyone to pet her.  If we have time, I don't mind someone petting her as long as they ask first.  This will take some getting use to because I know it will be different when we get home.  The mall is where the trainings always happen so the community here is pretty use to the dogs being there and how to interact with them.  It will take some educating on my part when we get back home.

After I got her back to the hotel, I took Kasen back to the mall.  He got to go to Build A Bear and then we went downstairs and found a train going around.  Of course he had to ride.  He did get upset when the ride was over and threw a fit leaving the mall.  At one point he did run off from me.  Luckily, he was close enough for me to say "okay, I'm leaving...bye!" and he ran back.  We will be working on tethering soon which will allow him and Levi to be attached to Panga so they can't just run off.  I'm ready for that training! :)

Tomorrow morning is more tracking work.  Hoping it's not raining this time. :)

Wore out 

Me and Panga at the Mall training

Day 4

Today we started with tracking.  I wasn't sure what to expect and it was really cold so I ended up with Levi staying in the van with Chris while Venus (the 4 Paws person who the dogs have been trained so far to track) took Kasen and hid.  I had started off telling Kasen it was "hide and seek" but then we were told during class that saying that to the kids could backfire and cause them to "play" the game on their own when we don't know.  So, we now tell him we're going tracking and that he goes for a walk.  Panga found Kasen (or Venus technically) fairly quickly.  She made some quick snaps because the wind was blowing, but found them within minutes.

We shed skin cells constantly.  They are microscopic.  That is what the dogs, who are trained in tracking, go off of.  They play "hot and cold" weaving back and forth until they get a consistent scent trail.  Panga did awesome today. We also practiced walking beside a shopping cart.

Her and I are having trouble mastering "heel".  She is so nosey, everything distracts her at the hotel.  I don't blame her.  There are other dogs and other people around. All new smells, etc.  We spent about 30 minutes out in the cold rain tonight practicing and her and I finally got into a groove.  I say her and I because we are a team. She is trained.  I'm not and her and I are training how to work together. 

Day 3

Today we worked more on "down", "sit", "place" and walking away from our service dogs with them being under an "implied" stay.  The dogs did really well with this.  We also worked more on distractions and a tennis ball is definitely Panga's weakness.  She struggled with leaving the tennis ball alone while in a "heel".  She eventually got it though.  We also worked on having them bark on command.  The intent is for her to bark when the boys leave an area or to alert to seizures.  She struggled with this because Kasen keeps barking at her and she sees it as a game.  I'll be asking about this in class.

This evening we got to bring them all back to our hotels with us.  Panga definitely knows that 4 Paws is "school" and what is expected there.  At the hotel, though, she struggled.  Part of the training is teaching her that her manners are to be in place no matter where she is and that she has to listen and pay attention.  Her and I will definitely be working on this as she is easily distracted in new surroundings.  She will get it, I have no doubt.  Her and I are still learning to work together. 

She was really interested in the boys this evening.  Levi would stim and she would immediately turn her attention to him and want to see what he was doing.  During any of the behaviors that we want her to help with, we give her lots of praise and treats when the boys have a behavior.  Desensitizing her to these new experiences.  The trainers worked with her on them, but it is different seeing a child doing it.  Kasen broke out the tennis ball and it definitely did not help her stay focused.  It will be a great motivator though when needed. 

Yoga pose "down dog"

Levi was stimming and Panga was watching him

Tomorrow we will start tracking.  Hopefully is won't be storming so the boys can go.