4 Paws for Jacey

The Good Days...And The Bad!

2011-03-23T22:07:00.004-06:00

***WARNING***

Long-Winded Post

Be Prepared to Read

Yes, I know this is loooong overdue and that you are probably a bit nervous seeing the title that I have chosen for this posting. Please excuse me but I need to vent a bit about dogs in general and then I'll get on with my happy-go-lucky post on Dublin. :o) If you choose to skip over this part, please see Paragraph Eight for the second half, the "better" half, of my post.

So I've been telling Judd for the past week or so that I've been needing to post something on Jacey's blog about her and Dublin. Between my conversation with Judd last night and Dublin's evening, I have decided to forgo the stacks of laundry that need to be folded, the dishwasher that needs to be emptied, the vacuuming, and all of the other things that I need to get done this morning.

Judd is in Spokane for meetings with work. Some of his co-workers who helped get Jacey her service dog told Judd (and some others that weren't aware of this blog) how great it is and that they love reading it...or something like that anyways. This news helped me go over the edge and ignore my laundry and "housewife/motherly" duties for a moment. The other part that put me over the edge for posting this was in fact Dublin last night. So here comes the venting part....

So, Judd is gone. I have been left to manage the chaos in the house that comes from Bailey, Carsten, Jacey, Kenna, Trevin, and of course, Dublin and Sasha. (Not that Trevin adds much chaos to the mix but I had to add him to make me feel better about saying "chaos".) I felt like I've been doing quite well until last night when Dublin began to irritate me. Yes, you heard me right, irritate me!!! So after a long day of managing the five children and two dogs mentioned above, I was ready for a quiet evening. I was going to attempt to relax and sit my duff in my chair to knit. Well, Dublin was whiny so I figured he needed to go out...so, I let him out. Nope, no potty. Okay, so let him back in, sit down and pick up my knitting. Dublin starts whining again, so I think, "He must be wanting to go in with Jacey and lay on the bed." Soooooo, I let him into Jacey's room where she and Kenna are peacefully sleeping. Close the door and go sit back down in my chair again and... Dublin starts whining at the door. At this point, I'm getting a wee bit irritated with not knowing what his deal is - he already ate dinner, went outside to use the bathroom, and attempted to lay down with Jacey. Add the fact that Jacey is asleep and I would like to continue enjoying the quiet that ensues from this, I'm beginning to become impatient with him. So, I think - okay, I'll put him in his kennel for the night. Nope. That wasn't it either and the two bones that live in his kennel made an amazing deal of noise that surprisingly enough didn't wake Jacey or Kenna up. So, I take the bones out and close the kennel again. Nope, still whining. So, I finally let him back outside in hopes that he'll do his deed and quit whining...which he does! Hallelujah! On his return inside, I note that his paws are somewhat muddy and figure that he'll lay on Jacey's bed to clean his paws with his mouth...like Sasha does. I give up the idea for knitting and figure I'll go to bed. I get comfortable when I hear even more noise coming from Jacey's room and it's not whining. I couldn't figure out what it was, so I figured Jacey must be awake and getting into stuff. So I take my pillow and head to her bedroom. Open the door to find this:

Dublin figured he'd "scratch" it off like he does when he's done doing a download outside.

Carpet worked well, but Dublin thought he'd give it a whirl on Jacey's bed.
This is where I found him when I went in...
I even found chunks of mud on my wall and the dresser!

At this point my cool has left the house and I am extremely frazzled with Dublin. My evening has not been relaxing and I got absolutely no knitting done. Dublin goes back into the kennel and I pray that he will be calm so that he may live another day! And thankfully he chose wisely and is still here today! :o)

So the next on the venting agenda - Sasha! Yes, I know this is a blog about Jacey and Dublin but Sasha gets to be a part of it today because she too, is lucky to be alive and still within the walls of our home. Therefore, venting is needed on this lovely creature. She has been peeing on my carpet a lot more lately and has taken up the hobby of chewing up things in the yard that are not edible, creating the need for her to throw up in my house at random points throughout the day. Add the fact, that she has also taken the liking to chewing things up in the house. She's chewed up a pair of jammie pants, Kenna's little FurReal Puppy, a stuffed animal's eye, a jammie shirt, a few children's board books, and Carsten's Duvet cover in the corner and I can't remember all the rest. However, she reached her end of living it "free", living the good life of being allowed to roam while we are gone when I came home to find that she had chosen to nibble on this...

Phoebe the Mouse

She only took a few nibbles out of the back of her head, an ear and sweater, when she discovered the top button was quite enjoyable to chew. Sasha now resides in a sweet little kennel located in our entryway whenever I leave the house. We've never forced the kennel on her before because she couldn't stand it. She gets really shaky and will run into another room in hopes of hiding out and skipping out on the kennel. That's when I take Dublin's training collar and place it around her to walk her to the kennel. It seems night time is when she really doesn't want to go in it. She's been better about going in it on her own accord during the day when I go to pick up Jacey or what not, but night time is always a fight.

Okay, thank you. I feel a LOT better now. On to the "good" stuff.

Oh wait...I lied! Dog hair.... I HATE DOG HAIR! I might as well trade Sasha in for two dogs for the amount of fur she sheds!!!

Notice the amount of black fur versus the white?!

Hey, is that another dog in my house?

The last time I posted I talked about how Dublin was having a hard time bonding to Jacey compared to the other way around. I finally called and talked with Jeremy, the head trainer at 4 Paws, about this and my concern with his growling.

So here's my report on the bonding process.... We needed to find an activity that both Dublin and Jacey would enjoy doing together, even if that meant playing tug'o'war with a tug toy. This was something that was discussed during training in Ohio and that we should not have the dog play in this way. But Jeremy said that if I were to buy one and only one toy that Jacey and Dublin would enjoy playing with together, it was worth it for the bonding. I just had to set limits for Dublin in that it was only okay to play tug with Jacey and with this one specific toy. When the toy goes away, the tugging game is over. I bought a rope that has a tennis ball on it and Dublin LOVES IT!!! I have been trying to get Jacey more interested in it by telling her she needs to go get "her" rope from Dublin. There have been a few times that Jacey will take the rope and run off with it. Dublin isn't far behind her when this happens! But for the most part, she prefers throwing it and going on to something else. Poor Dublin gets teased with the idea of playing with this toy only to have it put away because Jacey has moved on.

I continue to have her feed Dublin in the morning and have moved away from handing her the bag with the food in it while Dublin is right there. I try to set it on the counter and move away so that Jacey can get it down and feed him, making it more like Jacey has "control" of the food rather than me. I have also taken this treat bag, put a few treats in it and placed it on Jacey's pants with the string tightened down on it. Dublin follows her closely when she has the bag on her hip or even a ziplock bag with a few treats in it.

Dubbie has also gotten a lot better about laying down near her chair when she is working on ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis). Jacey will always take time to get her beanbag chair if Dublin is relaxing somewhere and join him. As for when she is aggressive with him, we just need to be constantly giving him praise and treats. I also need to be better about doing some of the things that Jacey likes to do (deep hugs, head-butting, etc.) while giving him treats when she isn't around so that he becomes more accustomed to it. So we are moving forward slowly, but definitely forward.

Jacey joins Dublin on his place and decides to look at a book while she's there!

Yep, she loves books and really enjoys loading up on them with her tub.

Dubbie is staying close by in case any treats fall out of her bag!
I also had him do a lap for a few seconds before Jacey wanted him off.

After church, Jacey excitedly gets Dublin out of his kennel to look at a book with him.
(He does not attend church with us.)

I put Dubbie in a down to "hang" with his little girl.

Dubbie goes "over" Jacey as she enjoys his company.

"Here's your breakfast, Bubbie!"

As for the growling...Jeremy said since we've had him out in public and he doesn't growl at people, it is definitely related to Judd, the garage and the smells associated with trapping. The growling comes because of insecurity and fear. Dublin has never smelled these things before and they are a bit overwhelming for a dog with amazing sniffer ofactories! Jeremy said to just let Dublin get used to it over time on his terms. If he breaks a command or doesn't listen and runs off, let him. Let him go to his "safe" place. There we can go and grab his muzzle and tell him no to let him know that we don't approve of his growling.

We have a coyote that I shot WAAAY back when Judd and I were dating that he had tanned. Jacey also received one of the fox pelts that was auctioned in her behalf on Trapperman.com when we were fundraising for her service dog. Jeremy said to place this in the middle of the floor of our house and let Dublin do his thing. That his been running along the wall while growling to get by them, to laying in the hallway while I am at the couch (he would prefer to be near me), to now pausing along the wall to sniff them out. He has even been willing to come to the back edge of the couch while I am sitting there to get reassurance from me, in the form of praise and silly talk. He doesn't growl hardly at them now, just our mud boots that may be at the back door where he goes out. He skirts away from the mud boots quickly as he goes out the door. Kind of funny.... The way Jeremy explained it is that the door to the garage that Judd comes in and out of has become the "boogie man" door. Judd has also become the "boogie man" because of the scents that he carries with him. Over time though, Dublin should get used to these smells as being normal for our home. It just is going to take time.

To be honest with you, I haven't really wanted to go anywhere in public with Jacey and Dublin. I know that's horrible of me to say, but it is true! Not that I don't want to be in public with them. Just that I need to be confident with myself in taking at least the three little ones and Dublin. It is quite a load. Just picture me with an arm through an infant car seat, a cute little girl in the other that is also holding a dog leash that is attached to Dublin which Jacey is attached to. Quite the little train I must say. It would make it even more interesting if Jacey decided to plop herself on the ground and not want to walk. So, needless to say, I have been working on my skills (or juggling act, whichever you prefer) with taking Dublin out with just Kenna and Trevin. I am definitely feeling more confident in myself AND Dublin. I went to Sam's Club a couple of weeks ago with the trio and I was extremely proud of Dublin and for the way he represented service dogs in general. I stopped to look at a few different clothing tables and each time, I just dropped the leash and Dublin would go into a down. It was fabulous! I actually walked away from him and around the corner of one table and Dublin just chilled in a "down". I am grateful for all the wonderful training that was done by his foster mom and the 4 Paws staff. If only I could sneak Sasha down there for some one on one training! Dublin made out quite well with the treats that day! :o) Judd and I have even taken him to a couple of restaurants for lunch and he's done fabulous just hanging out under the table.

Kenna, Trevin and Dubbie wait for our water jugs to fill at Walmart.
"Good boy, Dubbie!"

"Just chillin' with Mom and Kenna."

Dubbie under a restaurant table behaving himself while we feed our faces!

Kenna decided she needed to visit Dubbie and give him some love.
This was a great restaurant because there was TONS of room for feet and dog!!!

Can anyone guess where we are?
Hmmmmm....

"Good down Dubbie!"

What a handsome boy!!!

There's that treat bag!

I recently had a PTO meeting to go to and Judd wasn't going to be around to watch the kids. That meant leaving my comfort zone of just having Kenna and Trevin to now hauling all five kids down to the school with me. I was grateful that it was just to PTO and nothing like a banquet or dinner or something else that may have caused me to want to go into the fetal position. :o) Bailey and Carsten are thankfully very self-sufficient and can manage themselves. They are also good about walking with Kenna and helping me out with her. I tethered Jacey to Dublin in the parking lot and proceeded to go inside for the meeting (where I happen to be the PTO President). Jacey was very good about not sprawling on the ground but walked behind Dublin and me. It was the best feeling to know that Jacey was, one: walking, and two: not running away from me, and that these two things were happening without me being directly involved! Jacey did great the entire meeting being tethered to Dublin. Not one meltdown! She was able to color and every so often would seek out his treats so that she could give him a few. The night was a success and my confidence level definitely went up!

Hey, how did this picture get in here?!

And this one? Weird!

Hmmm...strange! I give up!

Also, the other day I went to pick up Jacey from preschool. She came out with a folder that was for me and decided she wanted it fiercely. I got it away from her once to lay it on the front chair of the van. Unfortunately she got it while I was quickly visiting with her speech therapist. Go figure! So I had to take it away from her again. This sent her into a lovely meltdown where she straightened her back and her legs so that I couldn't strap her into her carseat, all the while screaming. I eventually got her strapped in but the screaming continued. I took her hand and opened it, against her liking, and allowed Dublin to "kiss" (lick) it. I held it for several seconds in hopes that it would stop the meltdown. It only made her madder. I gave up on it, closed the van door and went around to get into the driver's seat. By the time I sat down in front of the steering wheel, there were giggles coming from the back seat - from Jacey! Apparently, she decided that it was an okay idea to let Dublin "kiss" her hands. She also had lunch on her face that he enjoyed trying to get to. I am sure that without Dublin there, the ride home would have been one of the hundreds of others before - when Jacey would scream the entire ride home.

On the way to school...

So, what do I hope you get out of this long-winded post?! It is that life continues to be insanely busy, crazy with five kids and two dogs but that Dublin is doing his job better everyday! I feel more confident in my skills as Dublin's handler in public. Jacey loves her dog, and the fact that she can take her dog anywhere she goes is awesome. It is a very wonderful feeling knowing that because of Dublin, I can juggle Jacey and four other kids. Jacey is so much happier these days and loves to search out dogs in books and says "doggie" throughout the day. I am so grateful for the people that made Dublin a reality - both those that helped us meet our fundraising requirement and those that trained Dublin in preparation of coming to live with us. Please know that Jacey, and all of us, have been forever blessed by having Dublin in our home. Thanks.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my miniature novel (or is it a blogel?). It feels great to have it done and have you all updated on our little adventure! 'Til next time...

Amy

***Oh...and I'd love to see more "followers" of my blog. So, if you want to make a housewife happy, click "follow" at the top. Thanks! Comments would be fabulous as well! Go ahead, tell me how crazy you think I am!!! :o)

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Our Chaos Grows By One...And Other Happenings!

2011-02-21T22:49:00.001-07:00

Well, you haven't heard anything in a while from me because I continued to get bigger and bigger until I felt like I was going to explode...thankfully, I didn't! And then on January 25th at 11:00 pm, the chaos in our house rose by one when Trevin Thomas entered the world. He weighed in at six pounds thirteen ounces and measured twenty and a half inches long. We got to the hospital and had thirty minutes before he was here. Don't worry - I got my drugs in time!!! :o) All went well and we are now home adjusting to the new routine. Sorry, but I am a prideful parent and must include some pictures to show off our little one.

I know, I know...you didn't come by my blog to see if I was still pregnant or not (I hope you didn't anyways!). Things are still progressing. Slowly. But progressing. We continue to work with Dublin bonding more with Jacey which is a little difficult, in my opinion. Jacey has had NOOOOO problem bonding with Dublin but she has been somewhat aggressive with him. She tries to pull his tail and ears (not surprised by this), but she has also decided that head butting him seems appropriate, not just on his head but on his sides and back as well. I am still learning so much about Autism and ways to work with Jacey, but I must say that I'm at a loss for what to do with her aggressive behaviors. She and Kenna can get into it (and do) sometimes. Jacey will push Kenna, pull her hair, or lean into her which drives Kenna crazy. Kenna on the other hand has learned to fight back and will pinch, hit or pull Jacey's hair. Sorry, back to Dublin and Jacey.... She is just rough with him when she seeks out his attention. He will be laying on the floor and as she runs full steam ahead at him, he will sit up as if to brace himself for the onslaught.

Don't get me wrong, Dublin is doing well with Jacey but I just don't feel like he is one hundred percent bonded to Jacey, unless of course she has food! So, what am I doing to work on this? Jacey is quite a busy little three year old girl. She attends Special Ed Preschool in the mornings and gets home to ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) in the afternoons...EVERY DAY! With this busy schedule, I have found that I will have Jacey's Hab Aid give Jacey treats when she has done well with something to give to Dublin. Dublin is much more apt to hang around with the treats being thrown at him. Also, Jacey has been coming and laying down on the floor at random times in the afternoon and evenings. I will call Dublin over to her and have him do an "over" on Jacey and I'll tell Jacey that they are snuggling. She giggles and eventually wants him off. I will repeat this over and over as I rub and pet Dublin, telling him what a good boy he is. I am also observing Jacey closely as she runs about the house and if I catch her being rough with him, I will go over and show her, hand-over-hand, how to pet him and give him loves.

The other thing we have discovered needing to work with Dublin on is NOT growling and sometimes barking. I have finally decided to call and talk with Jeremy, the head trainer at 4 Paws, about this because what we were taught to do in class is just not working. What were we taught to do? We cover his muzzle with our hand and tell him no. Then if the growling or barking was caused by something he is unsure about, then we need to introduce him to it and talk to him and tell him what a silly boy he is, giving treats as we talk. The PROBLEM - Dublin continues to growl and tries to back away from what we are doing and will NOT eat the treats we offer him. That definitely says something! We know exactly what it is he is growling and barking at - Judd. Not that it happens every day and every time he comes across Judd. It seems to be only after Judd spends time in the garage. Strange you may say, but it is what Judd was doing out in the garage that is what Dublin is unsure of - coyotes, fox, beaver, muskrat and whatever else Judd may have been working on related to his trapping. Dublin does not like the pants Judd wears to work on his hides, nor the smell that apparently is on Judd when he comes in.

This past Saturday, we finally got a babysitter and went to town with just Jacey and Dublin to do some tracks. Judd had heard of an auction going on and thought we could get some tracks done in the building it was being held in. Of course, after looking at a few items Judd thought he might be interested in. Dublin was an excellent dog when we entered the room where the auction was held and was soon after barked at by some some little dogs. Dublin's tail stayed up and continued to "heel" to Judd. The owners of these little dogs had to holler and yell at them to come back and to stop. It was quite a little scene during this auction. I mean, how could you miss three little yappy, barking dogs in a fairly quiet room?! I was very proud of Dublin for staying in a "heel" and not being phased by the dogs. I know this was because of his upbringing before he came to our home! Thank goodness for that!!! Anyhew, while we were at the auction, we walked down a few aisles of tables looking at the different items. There came a point where Dublin broke command and refused to go any further. I quickly looked around and saw animal hides layed out on a table we were nearing. Like I said, I am definitely going to call Jeremy about this. Luckily Dublin only broke command and didn't growl or bark. I'll keep you posted as to what happens with this.

So, we did go tracking on Saturday WITHOUT our cheering section. AKA - Bailey, Carsten, and Kenna. let me tell you, it was soooo nice not having to have the eyes on the back of my head up and running. Trevin behaved himself well and slept the entire time in our Baby B'jorn I wore. Jacey also did great with being tethered to Dublin. It has been a while since we have done that with her and I feared it would only lead to the same behaviors as trying to hold her hand. She loved it!!! She was allowed to run "free" and not be held with a tight grip on her hand. We did just a couple of tracks in this tiny mall because there wasn't much to it in hallways or places to go to hide. So we also went to the real mall. Holy cow, I guess we picked a bad day because it was horrendously busy. I guess that's good for doing tracks but both Judd and I were glad to get out of the chaos when we left.

We thought we would try some tracks outside of the department stores, down the main walkways of the mall. I must say, Dublin is very impressive! He found his girl every time. Knowing how many scents he had to weed through to find hers, we were exhilarated to know he could find her. I must say, I got a little over-confident at the end about my "ability" to read him. Judd and I had agreed on a location just inside a major department store. When we got to that intersection, Dublin continued to pull me hard towards a Hallmark store. I thought in my head that maybe Judd had wanted to trick me by going in to this other store instead of the one we had agreed on so I continued to let Dublin pull me in the direction he wanted to go. We got to the entrance of the store and one of the workers told me that it looked like I was "being taken for a walk." I didn't stop to tell her that Dublin's job was to track his little girl should she get away from us. Kind of funny to think that this lady had thought of this "service" dog taking it's owner for a walk. It must have been a sight knowing that I had Trevin in the Baby B'jorn, covered with a blanket and me being pulled by this large black dog! Needless to say, Judd had not tricked me and was standing out of sight just inside the department store. Dublin found his girl eventually but I know that I became over confident in reading his body language when seeing Judd and Jacey where they were supposed to be. I retraced our steps with Dublin and he found her. I know I should have paused longer at the intersection to make sure that is what Dublin wanted to do. It goes to show how Jeremy was right when he said that rooms breath, either in or out. I figure with the way Dublin was pulling me to this Hallmark store, that the department store Judd and Jacey were in definitely breathed out, causing Jacey's scent to go into the Hallmark store. It also reminded me that along with this breathing that rooms have, that a person has a "scent cone" and will drift in the direction of the airflow.

I must say it was funny that while we were at our "real" mall, security stopped us twice because of Dublin. The second security guard just wanted to "remind" us that the only pets allowed in the mall were service animals. Well, yes, we knew this considering the dog we had was a service dog which was wearing his harness (which technically he doesn't have to wear to be allowed in public places). In fact the first security guard that stopped Judd said he was sorry, that he hadn't seen the patch on the harness. It's funny how a simple patch can make you look like you're allowed to be there. I could have had Sasha, our other dog who isn't as well-behaved when it comes to commands as Dublin. "Oh sorry sir, I didn't see the patch." It's a funny thought in my head, hopefully it is yours too!

I also wanted to thank everyone who helped make Dublin a reality in Jacey's life. This past Sunday at church, I gave a lesson in a class with just women on the subject of service. I was reminded of what amazing service we were given when we were fundraising. It blew Judd and I out of the water with quality of people that came forward wanting to help. Thank you for all that you have done for our family and especially Jacey. She is a happier girl with Dublin around...if only she knew how to be a tad bit gentler. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at Dublin and think about all the people that made him a reality. Thank you for your service that was shown to Jacey, whether it was time, a talent, money, or spreading the word. Thank you....

With that said, it is getting later in the evening and Trevin has yet to have his awake time tonight which should make for an interesting night. Thanks for following our journey with Jacey and Dublin!

Amy

Runaway Chaos Continues!

2011-01-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

If you couldn't tell from my LACK of postings, life has resumed to its lightening speed. I do feel like I've got things under my belt again...until Junior decides to join us...then I'll be trying to figure everything out all over again! As for an update on Jacey and Dublin.....

The bond between Jacey and Dublin continue to grow. Just this morning, I had to go in and wake Jacey up to get her fed and ready for school. Dublin usually comes out of her room in the early hours, otherwise he wakes her up with his wagging tail smacking into things or from jumping on and off her bed. Dublin came in the room with me to wake her up and he immediately jumped up on her bed with tail wagging like mad. He'd jump down just to get back up again. Jacey giggled to have such an enthusiastic greeting from Dublin. I'm sure he was just thinking, "Hurry up and get out of bed so you can feed me my breakfast!" Either way, both were excited to see each other!

Tonight we somehow lost our minds by taking ALL FOUR KIDS to the mall. We stopped by Little Caesar's for a gourmet dinner out. We took the pizza and ate it in the mall's food court. Jacey was thrilled to be out and about. Judd just wanted to get into the mall (it was about 4 degrees out) so we went without the stroller and opted out of taking Jacey's harness and tether in with us. Eating our specially prepared dinner went fairly well. Bailey and Carsten got to sit at their own table with their own box of pizza. I think they felt like they were living it up! :o) Jacey attempted to sit in my lap to eat her slice of pizza but just couldn't find the right comfy position to sit in. She really wanted to be kneeling in my lap but considering the size of my Buddha belly, it was a little difficult for her to get into that position. Kenna had her own chair and enjoyed eating only the crust.

Judd took what was left of the pizza back to the car while I attempted to contain two little girls that wanted to go in two different ways while also handling Dublin. Go ahead and imagine that one! Yep, it was interesting! Add the HUGE belly and I'm sure your imagination can run wild with what it looked like! :o) Needless to say, Judd couldn't get back fast enough! Jacey decided to run down the mall towards him. While we stopped to decide how we wanted to go about practicing tracking, Jacey took off down towards the doors. We figured we'd start with that. Judd took her off to the side where there was a family restroom. Judd held the door to it open while Jacey went and played with the child size sink. I talked Dublin up and away he went. Okay, so I am now nine months pregnant with the baby having dropped extremely low. Dublin would have gone A LOT faster had I allowed him. I was pretty good this time about leaning back against the leash to keep him from pulling me face forward into the ground. Dublin paused by the entrance to the mall before taking off again towards the restroom. He found his girl - NO PROBLEM!!!

So we walked back to the main walkway of the mall and had Judd take Jacey down a different way and into a game store. Poor Dublin had to drag the prego again. It was amazing to see him want to pull so hard. When we first started off, his front legs went off the ground when he got to the end of the leash. Good thing the leash was attached to his harness and not his training collar! He would curve into towards the store entrances along the way and then head back down the main walkway of the mall until we made it to the game store. Yet again, he found his girl without a hitch.

We were close to the entrance of Sears so this time I carried Jacey to Sears and around to the right of the women's section and waited. The reason I carried Jacey - there was no way I'd ever be able to catch up with her running, which she was enjoying greatly tonight! Judd headed up the track with of course the three other children with him. He carried Kenna. Dublin again found us no problem and he was rewarded with yummy Pupperonies.

We did one more track with him as I walked off to the infants area with Jacey (yes, carrying her). Again Dublin did awesome, but we decided to give him a break from sniffing for a little bit as Jacey torn down the aisles of Sears. I carried Kenna with Bailey and Carsten following behind as Judd kept up with Jacey. At this point in time, after completing four tracks (waddling/running half of them), trying to keep Jacey with us, and making sure that we didn't leave behind Bailey, Carsten or Kenna, I was POOPED!!! Add the fact that as I mentioned before, it was only about 4 degrees outside so we were layered up with our coats on.

We continued our fast paced walk through the mall trying to keep up with a running, giggly Jacey. We made it to one end of the mall (it's really not that big) and went into Herberger's for one last track. As Judd was beginning to tell me where he would go with Jacey, she took off running, so off he went to catch up with her and hide somewhere. I picked up Kenna and told Bailey and Carsten to stay back with me as I talked Dublin up for this track. Talk about distracting with three kids by my side...or should I say that two of them wanted to be up by Dubbie which doesn't work well with tracking at all!!! I had to continually remind them to get back by me as I try to keep Dublin going. He got to entrance doors to the store and went cold, so I had to back him up a bit where the aisle had "Y'ed" to get him back on track. Of course, it was a lot easier to get him to back up than it was for two kids! The track didn't go as great as I wanted it to. Dublin did find his girl but it was a bit frustrating having kids in tow. I told Judd that next time we'll be getting a babysitter to practice some tracks.

Overall, the kids did fairly well for the chaos that it was. We left the mall with all four kiddos which was definitely a plus....I think?! :o) We rewarded them with an Orange Julius of their own (Kenna and Jacey got to have sips off of their brother and sister's drinks). By the time we made it back to the car, Judd and I were exhausted!!!! As I sit here, I can feel my body slowing down further and further! Hopefully, I'll be able to go to sleep easily. I'm guessing Judd isn't going to have a problem since I haven't seen him come out of Jacey's room yet! I'm pretty sure the two girls and daddy are fast asleep.

I was greatly relieved after going to the mall tonight in knowing that Dublin still knows the game. It has been too long since we've tracked with him. It's been too cold outside and evenings have flown by. He did a great job finding Jacey. I hope that the last track was my inability to stay focused on him and what he was doing.

Needless to say, tonight was a success. Bonding continues to go well and I am practicing with Dublin on behavior disruption techniques while Jacey is at school. I'm also pulling his tail and ears and fur a bit with lots of rewards to help him get used to Jacey's "love". I think it is going to take some time before I am able to use all of the behavior disruption techniques on Jacey because she has been a bit aggressive and pushes him away when she has her meltdowns, etc. I want to keep it positive and upbeat for Dublin so that he doesn't shy away from her. For now, she loves "kisses"...on her terms of course. She loves to put her hand in front of his mouth so that he will lick it. She attempts to do the same to Sasha but with no results! :o) I continue to say "kisses, good kisses" as he licks her hands. However, I must say it is a bit gross with what Jacey has decided to do afterwards - she'll lick her own hands. Bleh!!! I figure if it doesn't killer her it will only make her stronger...right?! :o)

Well, my pillow calls to me! I hope you enjoyed the update. Hopefully I'll have more to report soon and will find the time to do so. I do have on my list of things to talk about is how we manage with Dublin's potty when traveling and that sort of thing. This was a question that I have been asked that I thought I might as well do here on the blog...just not tonight!

Until my next comical act of juggling Dublin, Jacey, and her three siblings....

Amy

Traveling Home from Training at 4 Paws...AND MORE!

2010-12-28T12:00:00.001-07:00

I know, I know...you've been dying to know how things are going. I completely understand! I can't believe it has been two weeks since we got home. Yes, we are alive and okay. The minute we got home, life jumped back into the fast lane and away we've gone. :o) Instead of getting home on a Saturday evening and having a relaxing Sunday at home, it was off to the races Tuesday morning getting back into routine of getting kids up and ready and off to school. Wow, I was definitely on vacation while we were in Ohio!!!

Jacey fell asleep with Dubbie nearby...

We got to the airport to stand in line for checking in and going through security. It's a good thing we got there when we did or we may have missed our flight. I'm grateful to have such a small airport to fly out of here in Montana because going through check in and security is a BREEZE compared to Detroit! The only downfall that comes with a small airport, in Montana, is that it is expensive to fly anywhere!

I must say it was a nice reprieve in Detroit by only having two flights home instead of three. On our first flight before take off, the lady sitting behind Judd in the aisle seat told Jacey in a playful yet serious way that "they" don't allow crying on airplanes. She said it over and over so sweetly. I just laughed and told her, "Just wait..." The guy sitting next to her laughed. I was serious! And true to form, Jacey had a fairly good meltdown in the middle of the flight. This lady had taken a walk down the aisle and had come back in the middle of this lovely meltdown and just stood in her seat area watching me struggle trying to get Jacey to calm down. I tried coloring, books, magazines, cookies, juice, matching cards, and all of my other tricks that I keep up my sleeves to no avail. Jacey was seriously over-tired and sick of being confined - who could really blame her for wanting out of the plane. I know I did! Well, this lady continued to stare over our seats at us as Jacey continued in her meltdown. I finally asked her, "Is there something I can help you with?!" To which she responded, "It looks like someone could use Super Nanny." I quickly said that Jacey had Autism and turned back around to deal with Jacey. I was furious! I wasn't about to say another word to this woman or it was going to be ugly.

Have you seen Super Nanny? Who is it that Super Nanny really comes to "fix"? Yes, the children become much more well-behaved but it is the PARENTING that has issues. If only this woman knew. I would have loved to tell her to give it a try for a day. The things people say! Judd didn't think much of her comment but I read a lot more into it than he did - hey, I'm female, what can you expect?! Either way, I was grateful to finally have Jacey calm down until of course, the last twenty to thirty minutes of the flight while we were descending. Judd took her for a walk up and down the aisle and eventually she snuggled into me and fell asleep for a short bit. I might be willing to admit that I may have as well!

Going for a "walk"!

Finally...she crashes!

The last flight from Salt Lake City to Great Falls was a quick one. But in true form, Jacey was unhappy as we descended. It took FIVE flights and how many flight attendants before this final flight attendant gave us drinking cups with HOT, wet napkins in them to place over Jacey's ears. It would help to relieve the pressure since she wouldn't suck on anything. I was very grateful for someone trying to help. Jacey would allow me to hold them over her ears for so long and then would want to look at them. There was an older gal across the aisle from us that also gave Jacey a piece of gum. She chewed on it for a while but I knew it would eventually get swallowed. I was extremely grateful to the different feeling in the air on this last and final descent. People wanted to help!

So....here we are today at the end of December. Christmas has come and gone somehow. Jacey and Dublin are doing great. Jacey has really sped up the process of feeding Dublin by turning the treat bag upside down and letting it all fall out. :o) It is great to see the bonding continuing to take shape. Jacey LOVES ziplock bags lately, so I will put a few of Dubbie's treats into one. She runs around the house with him following close behind. The giggles are great to listen to!

Jacey continues to love Dublin's place.
She even allows Kenna to come and enjoy!

Jacey was tethered to Dublin at the school Christmas Concert.
She did great with him by her side!

Sasha and Dublin.

I think the best Christmas present I received on Christmas day was while Judd took Jacey and Dublin outside so he could work on our fence. (Yes, he finally let me order all of the materials to enclose our yard!) Dublin and Jacey were playing quite well together and it was fun to see him chase her around. I went back to cleaning up from the morning when I heard whining, yelping, and barking. I first thought that it was our other dog Sasha but she was in the house. I opened the back door to see what was going on.... It turns out that Jacey had left the yard and had gone around to the front of our house. Dublin couldn't see her anymore! What a great gift! Jeremy had said during training that Dublin would do that eventually when Jacey disappeared from his sight. It truly shows the bonding is going well. To know that I will get a warning from Dubbie if Jacey gets away....

Getting some snuggles with Dublin.

I am so grateful for this experience and for this new journey we are on. We've done a couple of tracks with Dublin since getting home. One was in Walmart a few days before Christmas - yep, it was interesting but successful! We also did two in our yard on Christmas Eve. I put our "Graduation" picture as my wallpaper for the computer. It's somewhat surreal to see us sitting with a dog with the trainers surrounding us. It was just yesterday that I was drooling over someone else who was graduating with their service dog, wishing for my day to be here. I can now say that we are official 4 Paws Graduates. We definitely still have our work cut out for us in transferring the behavior disruption techniques over to Jacey and continuing our practice tracks. (Good thing I didn't have to track Jacey yesterday - 37 degrees with wind gusts up to 30 mph. Jacey's scent would probably have ended up in South Dakota!)

I am forever indebted to those who helped us get to where we are at today. For all the donations that came in to get us to our $13,000 goal, to the donations for help in our traveling, to the anonymous donor who bought our airline tickets, and for all the thoughts and prayers sent our way. Jacey is truly blessed! And now her blessing follows her around the house to see what she is up to! Thanks for making this a reality for us. I hope to do better in keeping everyone updated as to what's going on, but please forgive me in advance for the time in between posts, as I feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off some days!

Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy New Year! Until next time....

Amy

Traveling Home from Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-12T18:13:00.000-07:00

As you read yesterday, I went to bed WAY too late Friday night. Well, Jacey decided that I apparently didn't need any sleep at all by waking up at 2:30 in the morning. I quickly gave her more Melatonin but she didn't go back to sleep until after 4:30. I'm pretty sure I was in and out during this time. She was relaxed enough that she stayed in bed and played with the TV remote. I then woke up at 6:00 to get ready and finish packing our last minute stuff. We went to breakfast and left the hotel at 7:30. We took a classmate's father to the airport with us because he was flying out shortly after us.

We woke Jacey up to get ready for breakfast and to get on the road. She was pretty mellow!

Our last breakfast at Homewood Suites.

Jacey prefers our food over hers this morning.

It went smoothly in the airport. Going through security was a breeze except for having to basically put ourselves back together with all of our loot. Jacey's coat and shoes, my coat and shoes, Judd's computer back into it's case, Dublin's harness and collar back on, and more. I think it took us longer to get our stuff put back together than it did waiting in line to go through security.

I told Dublin down...Jacey followed the command very well also!

Waiting for the plane in Dayton, Ohio.

I bought some Teddy Grahams within the airport because Jacey decided to dump what was left of her snacks onto the seat of our rental car. (They were a life saver when we got on the plane.) Jacey did not enjoy just sitting on the plane in her carseat waiting for everyone to load and waiting for takeoff. Dublin did fairly well on the airplane. During take off you could see his bomb slightly quiver. I talked "happy" to him and gave him some treats. Throughout the flight, I'd lean over, as best I could, and praise him and give him more treats. And of course, about twenty to thirty minutes before landing, Jacey decided she'd had enough fun. Once we landed, Dublin seemed more than thrilled to get off the plane. :o) But of course, it took a little time to be allowed off.

Once we got into Detroit, Judd and I had to part ways on the "people mover". I walked with Dublin along the side of it while Judd tried to keep up with Jacey as she ran along it. Dublin behaved well in the airport. Judd and I got separated at the first escalator when I had to go up in the elevator. I guess he went back down and then up with Jacey while he waited for us. I thought they had just gone on ahead. Needless to say, it was about half way to the end of a tram line that I realized there even was a tram. I think we got out of the elevator at gate thirty-something. They had the people movers along the walkway, but of course Dublin and I weren't allowed on them (they don't want his paws to get caught at the ends so we aren't allowed to take the dog on them). Our gate was A72. Yep, I walked a loooooong way before figuring out there was a tram that wasn't going to do me any good at that point. Judd and Jacey showed up at the gate shortly after I arrived there. I guess they saw me ahead and started heading that way. I was pooped by the time I got there considering I was hauling the carseat...and a big belly! :o)
Judd grabbed Taco Bell for us for lunch. We ate at the gate and shortly into our gourmet meal, they announced that our flight was canceled due to weather in Minneapolis. Judd quickly went to find out what other flights we might be able to get on to get home. In the end, all flights to Minneapolis were canceled as the airport was shut down there. We couldn't get to Denver, Salt Lake City, or Seattle even. Judd tried for getting out on Sunday to no avale. We have guaranteed flights out of Detroit for Monday to Salt Lake City with a short layover and then on to Great Falls.

So by this point of attempting to get on other flights, Judd got a cart for all of our stuff. Jacey got to ride on it, strapped in her carseat. We went to the baggage claim area and spent more time there trying to get our bags out from the back. They didn't want to give them to us, but considering we were going to be here all weekend with Dublin and Jacey, we needed the dog food and diapers out of the bags. They told us it would take a couple of hours to find them and get them out so we went in search of a hotel. The airline also gave us dinner vouchers which they didn't have to do.

Ahhh, a cart to carry all of our stuff!

Judd works on getting our checked baggage for our "weekend vacation" in Detroit!

Riding the shuttle to the hotel.

We are staying at the Fairfield Marriot right by the airport. A couple hours after settling in, the airline called to let us know that our bags were available for us to pick up. Judd took the shuttle back to the airport and got them. For dinner, we walked two blocks down to a Big Bob's Restaurant. We enjoyed a nice meal and I indulged with a banana split. Mmmmm, it was really good. I'm ready to go back and get another one.

Jacey got all of her loot out from her backpack.

Jacey crashed for a little nap!

Jacey and Judd went swimming for a short bit in the hotel's pool while I watched from the sidelines with Dublin. There was a little girl that was having a swimming pool party for her birthday so there were a bunch of kids making a lot of noise. I brought my knitting project and took pictures of the two of them. We made the swimming short because of the noise. Jacey went to bed well and slept in to about 7:30 this morning.

Waiting for Judd to get ready for swimming. Jacey enjoyed the shower!

Dublin considered joining her...but held off for a day!

Our little fish seems happy!

Enjoying her time with Daddy!

Jacey crashed hard after swimming. :o)

We went down to breakfast at 8:00 and they had a fairly good breakfast selection for us, which was nice to find. We went back to the room where I sorted out the laundry needing to be done. Judd got on the phone with Delta to find out about our flights for Monday and to see if there was any possibility of getting out today. We'll be flying out Monday for Salt Lake City. It's been kind of nice just hanging out. Jacey was a bit cranky while Judd went to do laundry and get work done. But she snapped out of it and had a blast giggling in the shower area.

Jacey enjoyed our bags while I sorted laundry.

Judd came back and we took Dublin for a couple of tracks. He did good. You knew exactly when he heard her because his tail would start wagging like crazy and he'd be off to get her. It was great to see their bonding taking shape! Judd then went across to McDonald's and grabbed us lunch. We stayed at the hotel because it was snowing outside and I didn't want Jacey out in it - she's been out in the weather enough the past two weeks.

After eating lunch down in the breakfast area, Judd and Jacey got their swimsuits back on in the room and went swimming. Again, I took my knitting. It was a lot quieter in the pool area which was a welcome relief! Jacey is such a joy to watch giggle as she gets in and out of the hot tub.

Jacey comes to say hello to Dublin and me.

Smiles for the camera!

Jacey enjoyed going back and forth in the hot tub with dad.

Dad shows Jacey the little shower.

Hmmmm...what should I do next? Shower or hot tub?

Getting dried off just to go back to play with the little shower.

Looks like a rough life doesn't it?

The little shower...

We're back in the hotel room enjoying as much "R and R" as Jacey will allow us. She took a good nap, allowing me to update yesterday's post with pictures.

Until later...

Amy

Day 11 of Training at 4 Paws - TEST DAY!

2010-12-11T20:37:00.005-07:00

I know I'm a day off from when I should have posted about our final day of class at 4 Paws. However, since we went to visit Don and Bonnie right after graduation and then got back to the hotel to pack up all of our "stuff", I figure you could wait. Hopefully you weren't up too late waiting for something that never got done last night. Sorry if you did. I was up until around midnight making sure everything was cleaned out of the hotel room and packed well.

Jacey wanted to play in Dublin's kennel. He wanted to join her! :o)
(Imagine hearing giggles when looking at this picture!!!)

I was the first up for the public access test at the mall. Judd and Jacey stayed back at the hotel while I went to work with Dublin. Jacey woke up at 6:30 Friday morning and Judd was already up. He gave her some Melatonin thinking that she'd be able to go back to sleep for a while. Well, she did by the time I had to leave for the mall! :o) Judd was able to get some work done with a quiet hotel room.

I met up with the trainers at the mall. Jennifer followed behind me a ways and had to see certain things done with Dublin. Such as walking by a stroller, having someone come up and pet him, stopping and having him sit, stopping and putting him in a down, from a down calling him to me and having him come, dropping the leash and quickly picking it back up, having a surprise "noise" to make sure he didn't spook, and I'm sure there are other things that I am forgetting, besides of course having him heel to me. He did fabulous on our twenty minute walk. After that, we went and found a comfortable spot in the food court for another fifteen minutes for our "restaurant" test. Dublin took a good little nap under the table while I made a few phone calls.

Jennifer came back to let me know that we officially passed our test and that we could head to 4 Paws to do our paperwork. Dublin and I were the first to get there and went through the contracts, vet history, and all the other needed things to be able to bring him home with us. He got his heartworm and fleas/ticks medicines also. He even got a bandanna! :o)

I went back to the hotel after 4 Paws and picked Jacey and Judd up so we could run some errands. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and were able to sit and "veg" for a little bit before heading back for graduation.

Jacey got to play for a bit before graduation began. Of course, she went to find the crayons!

Karen Shirk, Founder of 4 Paws for Ability

Judd and Dublin await our turn for pictures.

Graduation was fantastic. Each family got to go sit in front of the "4 Paws Graduates" sign and had LOTS of pictures taken of them. Jeremy then awarded each child with a certificate stating that their dog was a legal three-unit service dog. Afterwards, there was cake (with yummy frosting!), chips, and drinks. Lots of visiting and more pictures. I can hardly believe that our eleven days of training are over and done. The time really flew by!!! It was bittersweet yesterday, knowing that each family passed their test and having to say goodbye to new friends.

Chris and Mercy

Griffin and Nokia

Riley and Beauford

William and Pumpkin

Owen, Annabelle and Cyber

Sean and Flutter

Drake and Sushi

Matthew and Flash

Tucker and Champ

Alexander and Zoom

Noel and Kiwi

We PASSED!!! Jacey and Dublin

Afterwards, there was cake (with yummy frosting!), chips, and drinks. Lots of visiting and more pictures. I can hardly believe that our eleven days of training are over and done. The time really flew by!!! It was bittersweet yesterday, knowing that each family passed their test and having to say goodbye to new friends.

4 Paws Graduation Cake

Jacey and Judd shared a piece of cake.

Once Dad's cake ran out, Mom was looking pretty cool!

Jacey found a lonely piece of cake on one of the chairs. Turns out to be Crista's.
She was more than happy to share with Jacey! :o)

Jennifer - Senior Trainer, Jeremy - Head Trainer
Christy - Trainer, Me, Judd
Jacey and Dublin

It was such a wonderful experience meeting other families that had some of the same issues that we have with Jacey. Judd had to just about drag me out of 4 Paws because like Judd says, I have a lot more words to use up each day than he does. :o) We had to stick to the clock because we were again invited to Don and Bonnie's home for dinner - PiZzA!!!

The evening was a complete 180 from our first visit with them. I'm sure they thought we had brought a different child. Judd and I were shocked by Jacey being so calm as she was, considering she had a nap earlier in the day. Don and Bonnie had gone and bought a coloring book and crayons for Jacey along with a bag of foam blocks. Jacey felt right at home there and dumped the entire bag out on the floor. She then went and dumped the crayons out and colored/scribbled a few pages. The pizza they ordered was really good and it was nice to see Jacey eat. (She wouldn't eat lunch earlier in the day.) She also enjoyed her pop! She was entertained with the blocks and coloring, and of course was interested in sitting in my lap to do the coloring. :o)

Jacey brings the blocks to the table to play with.

We had a wonderful visit with Don and Bonnie. I'm glad that we went back and that I was able to enjoy myself so much. It was interesting because Don brought in two coyotes that he had trapped that I wanted to see. Dublin wasn't sure what to think of them. He got pretty shaky and his tail went between his legs. Apparently he shed a bit in their kitchen also. We tried really hard to make it a positive experience for him but he wouldn't go near them. I just "happy" talked him and gave him treats. I told Judd that it is his job to get Dublin adjusted to this considering what he has in store for him when we get home! Dublin didn't want to go near Judd the rest of the evening which is something we are going to ask Jeremy about when we get home.

Jacey brought lots of smiles to all of us after dinner when they brought out the ice cream. We figured we would just share bites with her to keep her a bit cleaner. But she had other plans. Bonnie went ahead and gave her a small scoop in a bowl of her own. After sitting down at the table, Jacey managed to do a quick switch-aroo with Judd who had a full bowl of ice cream. She wasn't going to give it up either. There were laughs over Judd trying to sneak some ice cream out of her bowl and her not allowing it.

Don was a softie, giving Jacey some chocolate syrup for her (dad's) ice cream!

Dad's ice cream sure tastes good!

Do you think she enjoyed her ice cream?

She got really hyper and started running around the house with the bag for the blocks over her head. She also dumped the blocks on their kitchen table. More giggles were heard and the guys started playing with Jacey. They attempted to clean up the blocks and put them back in their bag but Jacey would run by and grab it. She'd then giggle like crazy as she dumped it all out. I think she enjoyed the game! :o)

Anyways, we had a great time with Don and Bonnie. Jacey needed a bath and we needed to pack for our trip home so we had to finally say goodbye. It was an enjoyable part of our trip that I never thought we would do while in Ohio. Thanks Don and Bonnie! And yes, it was the same Jacey we brought over the first night...although you probably don't believe me! :o)

Don gets a few more giggles out of Jacey before we leave.

I stayed up way too late getting everything ready for our trip home the following morning. I think I finally managed getting to bed a little after midnight.

Graduation day was fabulous and our evening was relaxed and very enjoyable. I'll update you with our travels today, tomorrow. I'm pooped!

Have a great one...

Amy

Day 10 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

This morning was quiet relaxing to know that we only had to go to the mall. We have to leave at least twenty minutes before we are supposed to be at 4 Paws but since the mall is just up the road from our hotel, we had that much extra time in the morning. :o)

We went with Jeremy into Dick's Sporting Goods and started working with Dublin there. Judd and I both hid with her as the other talked Dublin up into tracking. The tracks went well and Jeremy talked through everything that Dublin was doing really well. He explained why he was going this way and that way for the scent and saying when Dublin had a "head snap." It was good to go to the mall today and get more play by play on indoor tracking. We went back to the play area within the mall and allowed Jacey to go play for a bit so she would be happy. She loved running from one structure to the next. She did really well with being tethered when we walked from the play area to the stores and back. We also went with Jessa and tracked within JcPenney's (I think that was it). We did a total of six tracks between Jeremy and Jessa and each track that I personally went on, I became more confident and understood the things that I need to do to make sure that Dublin stays with the scent. It was neat to see when he got super close to her how much his tail started wagging back and forth. His enthusiasm for finding Jacey was wonderful to see.

We went back to 4 Paws after we had our tracks at the mall and continued more distraction work...just making it more and more distracting for the dogs to stay focused. Dublin did very well with this except for a stuffed dog they have named "French Fry". He got a little too excited over it when one of the other little boys started to push it across the floor. After a quick correction, Dublin went back into a down and was better about watching me. We also worked on giving commands with only our hand signs or words. Dublin did pretty good, but it is definitely something that I will continue to work with him on at home. We also worked the dogs off leash today to make sure that they still have respect for us and still listen. Dublin is a super good dog and does very well. I am just soooooo grateful that 4 Paws was here to train him and prepare him for Jacey...for us! After having a puppy for a few short months, I know that I wouldn't have been able to train a dog on my own. The amount of time that is spent on each dog is incredible. Thank you 4 Paws!!!

After lunch, Jeremy went over any questions we had regarding tracking from this morning. We will definitely have to go on daily tracks with Jacey to continue to have Dublin memorize her scent and especially for us to learn to read him while tracking. He then went over the things that we must show tomorrow during our "public access" test. Jeremy also went over traveling with our dogs and the things we need to do to prepare them for a trip. Thank goodness Dublin's foster family has flown with him...at least twice...so that he shouldn't be too nervous about the three flights we have to get home.

He also discussed things to do if we have other animals at home. Since we have Sasha (dog), at home and she is so submissive, I don't think we have a lot to worry about. However, we are still planning on having Judd's brother and his wife take Sasha for about a week when we get home so that we can establish a routine and rules within our home for Dublin. Then we will introduce them and have both of them. I am beginning to think I'm a touch crazy for having two dogs, but thank goodness Sasha is so lazy! :o) I'm hoping that all goes well between the two of them and that we don't have problems with Dublin bonding more with another "body" in our house more than Jacey. That is going to be critical! Bailey and Carsten already understand that Sasha is their dog and that Dublin is for Jacey. Hopefully we don't have to remind them of this too much.

I feel pretty good about the test tomorrow. It will take about twenty to thirty minutes and then we will have a restaurant part of the test where we demonstrate that we can handle the dog within a restaurant setting. It is funny though because they told us today that part of the test is dropping the leash while in a heel and then immediately picking it back up again. This is to show that the dog isn't going to run off. :o) I'm going to practice with Dublin tonight to see what his reaction is to this so that I am prepared for tomorrow. Overall, I think it will go well. I guess I'll find out soon enough because we are the first of the bunch to begin the public access test. After we complete this portion, we (really, just me) will go to 4 Paws and complete the needed paperwork. Judd and I have decided that he will stay here at the hotel with Jacey and attempt getting some work done while I go and do the test and paperwork with Dublin.

After we have completed our test and paperwork we don't have to be back at 4 Paws until around two o'clock for our graduation. :o) I can't believe this day is just about here. Jeremy and Jennifer reassured us all that we will do just fine on the test tomorrow. This class has gone amazingly fast.

::Sigh:: I got my Olive Garden fix tonight. :o) It was good! The company we had was great too! We went with another family from class and enjoyed sharing stories about all the things our kids have done, gotten into, escaped from, etc. It was great to sit with another family as Jacey scavenged the spaghetti off my plate as soon as it hit the table. In fact, she couldn't leave my plate of food alone the entire meal. Knowing that Jacey was acting this way and knowing that the other family understood completely where we were at was a wonderful feeling. I feel extremely blessed having gone on this trip not only for Dublin but also for the time we've had to meet other families in the same boat as us and to know that we are truly not alone in our frustrations...or our good moments.

I am so grateful for all the men and women who have made this possible. To know that in less than two weeks, we were done fundraising for Jacey's service dog and to know that we would be in this December class was something I never expected. Without the giving hearts of both friends, family and complete strangers, we would not be here. Thank you so much! I feel blessed beyond belief!!! Thank you for all that you have done. I am so grateful for 4 Paws as well. They are an amazing organization that changes lives for the better. I am completely behind 4 Paws and would love for people (including Judd and I) to continue to donate to them. They know what they are doing. They have a passion for it. And they do this for children. That is their focus - children! You know they have their hearts in the right place. If you are interested in donating to 4 Paws, you can always go to their website to do so at www.4PawsForAbility.org/donation.html

Judd and I both look forward to getting home and seeing our other children who we have missed terribly since being here. I know they are counting down the days until we get home which makes me smile. It is soooo nice to talk to them each day but I miss their silliness, smiles, and especially their hugs and kisses.

Well, I need to go practice with Dublin before my pillow starts hollering too loud and wakes everyone up around us! Have a great night...because today has been a great day! Keep your fingers crossed that I do well on the public access test and that I pass our class! :o)

'Til tomorrow...

Amy

Day 9 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel like I would be repeating myself if I tell you about this morning too much! :o) Jacey woke up WAY too early again but shortly after her Melatonin kicked in, she again found a spot on Dublin's Mutt Matt. However, this morning Dublin decided to come in and make himself comfortable on her bed. I wonder why?

Jacey wasn't up for sharing Dublin's mat with him this morning!

After she woke up, she wanted in the bath. After it slowly drained even being "plugged" she wanted back in her jammies...just a different pair. She also got snugly with Dublin who was resting.

Every day we have gone to a park and tracked Jacey. Only two of those were with Christie, who Dublin was originally trained to track. I took Dublin for the first track with Jeremy following along. Dublin had a lot of energy this morning and towards the end of the track, I thought I was going to go face first into the snow because he was trying to speed up and I couldn't go any faster. Luckily, I caught myself and we went back to work and found Jacey. I was completely out of breath but happy that Dublin did such a good job. Judd just laughed at me, saying that I shouldn't have gone so fast if I was going to run out of breath. I was just trying to watch Dublin's movements and make sure he was on Jacey's scent. I guess I need to make sure that I stay at a steady pace. Woooo, I was pooped.

The second track, Judd took the lead and I was more than happy to go hide with Jacey. Dublin did great. We walked along the side of a pavilion with picnic benches and I guess Dublin got wrapped around one of the posts. :o) Other than that, no distractions and no hesitation. Jeremy felt good about both tracks.

We came back to 4 Paws after our morning of tracks and met up with Jennifer. On the way home, we had to stop and take a picture of a "store" we thought was funny. Hope you like...

We continued to go over tethering and distraction work with the dogs. Dublin did a fantastic job at both. Pup-peronnis were dropped across the floor and we practiced walking the dogs through the "path of temptation." Dublin didn't hardly even look at them. I was super proud of him for doing so well. We'll have to continue working on this to make sure that at any time when food is dropped on the floor that Dublin feels like we are testing him.

Jacey came over and wanted to feed Dublin some treats. :o)

While I worked with Dublin, Jacey noticed two of the boys up on the stairs playing a game. She had to go investigate. I think she liked what she found because she was there for quite a while.

We were given a very short lunch so we grabbed food and brought it back to eat. Of course, Mom and Dad's food tasted better than Jacey's own. :o) She also really enjoyed our drinks!

The children were not needed to be at the center for anything in the afternoon class. So Judd took Jacey back to the hotel. She fell asleep on the way and Judd couldn't get her to wake up. I guess after an hour after she fell asleep, Judd was still having difficulty waking her up, so he mentioned "candy" to her and her eyes peeked open just a bit. He gave her a Hot Tamale. :o) Heck of a way to wake up!

The afternoon consisted of Jeremy discussing tracking and any questions we might have on anything else we have learned. Towards the end we were given the opportunity to get up and show Jeremy basic obedience with our dogs. Dublin made me look good again.

Jacey enjoyed dumping Dublin's dinner out on the floor tonight and was all over the hotel room. She was giggly...apparently the nap gave her a bit more energy! It was well after 8:30 that she finally got comfortably settled in my lap. By 9:00, she was still awake. So Judd and Dublin went to go lay down with her on the bed. Judd got her to sleep but Dublin jumping off the bed woke her back up. Judd went and layed back down with her and is now getting some Z's in himself!

Today has been a good day. We were given the option of where we wanted to work on tracking tomorrow and so we will be meeting at the mall tomorrow with a group of us who want more practice and help with indoor tracks. I just don't feel confident with Dublin inside a store yet. Hopefully tomorrow will help both me and Dublin increase in confidence with indoor tracking.

I'm not sure where the evening has gone, but it is bedtime for me! Enjoy the post for today and I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Amy

Day 8 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-07T20:06:00.001-07:00

Our day started bright and early when Jacey decided to wake up at 5 am. Yep, sounds fun doesn't it?! Judd was really good...well, mostly good about coming and hanging out with her until she got sleepy again (thanks to the Melatonin he gave her!). When I got up to get ready for the day, I took a sneak peak out in the living area because all was toooooo quiet. When that happens, it is rarely a good sign. This morning it was a very sweet moment. And of course...we DIDN'T have our camera!!! Jacey apparently decided that Dublin was going to share his Mutt Matt for her to fall asleep on. She was covered in her blankets and Dublin was on the other side of her. I'm thinking that if we wake up early, we need to move Dublin back to her bed in hopes that he'll be calming enough for her to go to sleep...I know, it's probably a pipe dream!

Breakfast went well with Dublin and Jacey. She ate like a horse since she didn't eat a very good dinner the night before. She really enjoys eating our food more than her own. Surprise, surprise, right?! We met at Rotary Park this morning for our tracking session. Dublin did a great job finding his girl...both times! Judd took off running on the first track and I wasn't able to keep up with him. The second track, I took the lead and worked Dublin. He was very kind to me and didn't pull so hard that I fell over or slid or anything. It was really cold...again.

Oh, that made me think. Judd said that yesterday I posted what looked like a negative 14 degrees...it was actually just a dash. Sorry, just fourteen degrees above zero. Hopefully if it was subzero, Jeremy would be kind to us about tracking outside...maybe?!

Once we finished up with our two tracks we went back to 4 Paws. Jennifer went over the rest of the behavior disruption commands. She said that we have now learned all of the commands and behavior disruption commands. Holy cow! My brain is flooded with information right now. Dublin knows of course, "high five", "give me five", and "shake". He does not know to "bark" on command. We also learned "stand" and "back". "Stand" is when we want them to go from a sit or down to standing so that we can, for example, put on their harness. I'm going to have to work with "lap" and "over" with Dublin as he looks at me like, "Huh? What do you want me to do?" However, he definitely figured out "kiss" when my finger was smeared with peanut butter!!!

Dublin does behavior disruption on me...definitely needed! :o)

I point to where I want Dublin to "kiss".

Notice the peanut butter on my finger that is pointing.

My hands were ultra moist after practicing "kiss"!!! :o)

We met back at the mall today after lunch. Judd was super sweet to me by stopping at a yarn shop for me to buy some yarn that I could work on making a hat with. The yarn I brought was two different brands and I didn't like the way it was turning out in the way that it felt. I sure got lucky in the husband department. Last night, he hunted down a Baskin Robins for me and today, a yarn shop. He's definitely a keeper. Judd was extremely thrilled that we ate at Chipotle for lunch today. He said he could eat there again. :o) We were both somewhat shocked that I ate my entire burrito! Usually I get through half of one and am full. Tonight at dinner, I ate three tacos. Talk about eating well! It must be all this running after Dublin and all the mental and physically draining parts of class. So much information!

We went on a few short tracks in JcPenney's today with Jessa and Christie. I started out with the first. Jessa told Judd exactly where to go so we would know what path he and Jacey took to make sure Dublin was on. Unfortunately, he wasn't. There were many aisle openings and Jessa thinks he got tunnel vision and started following a different scent. I was really disappointed but Jessa reassured me that this isn't the first time that has happened with the dogs. I was reminded to pause at intersections to make sure that he is sure about what way to go. After I tracked with Dublin three times, Judd went a couple of times. Jessa said that Dublin became more and more sure of himself as we did more tracks. So, Judd and I went for a walk with Jacey who happened to be tethered. :o)

Tethering with Jacey is definitely interesting. Looks like she's trying to clothes line me!

Dublin did very well on staying with us on the stairs.

Tethering is interesting because you not only have to make sure the dog is staying with you in a "heel" but you also have to be aware of what the child is doing at the other end of the tether. Jacey would sometimes walk along the side of me on my right so that the tether strap would continuously hit me in my calves. Other times, she would be all the way at the end of the tether like she was a caboose of a train. I'd say that Jacey did fairly well being tethered. She still had her moments where she would just sit down on the floor...and sometimes lay down also. Judd was really good about picking her up and carrying her when we knew she wasn't going to walk for us. We went on a few more small tracks with Jacey and Dublin in a few other stores in hopes to get his confidence built up. The first time Judd went to track on his own, Dublin again went a wrong direction but still found her in the end. So we are making the tracks extremely short. I'll need to bring more rewarding treats for him when we go again so that he really gets excited and wants to do well. As the bonding between him and Jacey grow stronger, so will his ability to remember and track her scent. Eventually, he'll have no problem tracking Jacey out of a crowd of a thousand people. Baby steps, right?!

All done tracking in Macy's.

This almost looks too natural to have Jacey just walking along with Judd.

By the time we finished doing a few tracks in Dick's Sporting Goods, Jacey was done walking.
Judd packed her up and we were ready to go! :o) Who knew the tether strap could be multi-purpose?! :o)

We survived the mall for the most part. It was much nicer going on a day other than Saturday or Sunday - not nearly as many people!!! Jacey was definitely DONE when we left! It is so funny how she will stop crying when I go to praise Dublin. And of course the minute I stop praising and "happy" talking Dublin, she starts screaming again.

We got back to the hotel where she was able to run. We got out her matching picture cards that I made for this trip and they entertained her for quiet a while. Then it was time to go for dinner. She ate in normal Jacey fashion, leaving plenty of leftovers for the next guest to make at least one taco with what was on the table. :o)

Jacey giggles with delight as Dublin checks out what is going on.

The rest of the evening went by quickly. Again, she fell asleep sitting in my lap....and again, Judd took her and layed her down. Dublin quickly jumped up from the place he was laying down and followed them into the room. Judd gave him the "jump" command where he quickly got up on Jacey's bed and layed down near her. It was nice to see Dublin wanting to be with her. At least that's the way we are looking at it!

Out for the count!

So here I am, at the end of another busy and draining day. Judd's already off to bed as he has to get up early to get some work done. Bed sounds really nice right now...

So, until tomorrow evening... Have a great one!

Amy

Day 7 of Training at 4 Paws PICTURES

2010-12-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Judd starts off with Dublin pulling tight on the Flexi.

Jennifer keeps up to help Judd with the track if needed.

Dublin found Jacey and is rewarded with hot dog pieces.

Back at 4 Paws, Jacey decided to hang out in the middle of the floor where we work the dogs.

Dublin is super good with "shake"!!!

Judd gives "shake" a try.

Dublin goes to "sleep" or"night night"as I feed him a treat with his head laying on the floor.

"High Five"

Sorry for not getting these up last night. Enjoy!

Amy

Day 7 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning to it being very cold outside - 14 degrees or so. Add wind to that and it made for a fun track! Jacey wasn't happy in the car the minute we got in it at the hotel. I bundled her up at the park and Crista, another mom, went to hide with Jacey. I got Dublin going on the track and he did excellent. We then had Crista take Jacey to hide again so that we could call it a day with tracking. The wind was super cold but Jacey did great with Crista. We quickly got her back in the car and the screaming began again. It's pretty funny because they tell us to "happy" talk, praise, and give the dog treats when the child is exhibiting a behavior that we would like to see behavior disruption with from the dog. Every time we sweet talk Dublin, Jacey goes quiet. We stop, she screams. We praise Dublin, she stops. Hopefully Dublin catches on to what behavior we want help with. :o)

Once we got to 4 Paws, Jacey was happy again coloring with crayons. When our entire group got back to the center, Jeremy had us practice disruption with the dogs in a down. We also learned a couple of the tricks the dogs know. Dublin lays down when you "shoot" him in his side with your hand and you say "bang". He took a while to figure out what I was wanting since he was hearing the command from a new person...something we hadn't done before. He eventually got the idea but was really wanting to sniff my hands for treats! Go figure! :o) We can also say "go to sleep" or "night, night" for the same result. He is great with shaking hands, giving five and giving high five. It was really neat to see him do these. We'll definitely have to keep practicing the "bang" so he gets really good at it.

Judd, Jacey and I ran through the Sonic drive-thru for lunch. I then dropped them off back at the hotel since Jacey wasn't needed for the training session this afternoon. We asked Jeremy lots of questions about tracking and he showed us more of how the dogs work in stores and what to watch for. He then discussed appropriate toys for the dogs and ones to stay away from. Jeremy told us that by brushing a dogs teeth a couple times a week can increase it's lifetime by two years. Apparently the bacteria in the mouth works its way down into the stomach and eats away at things. Pretty crazy! I never would have thought that I'd even consider brushing a dogs teeth let along purposefully putting my fingers in the dogs mouth. Basic grooming was discussed - clipping nails, giving baths, brushing your dog down, cleaning ears, etc.

I know this seems to be a somewhat short blog tonight but my eye lids are not wanting to cooperate. Also, you've heard about previous tracks and this afternoon had lots of questions and answers...and grooming basics. I did ask a lot of questions, thanks to having Sasha in our home now for a year.

Today was a great day filled with lots of information, tricks, and working on obedience. Jacey did fairly well at 4 Paws, just not in the car. She again fell asleep snuggling into me tonight. Unfortunately, our camera was somehow forgotten at 4 Paws and so I have no photos to upload tonight. I know I am terrible but it is kind of nice. :o) So, tomorrow I have a little extra homework uploading extra photos. We'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Have a great night!

Amy

Day 6 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

What a day! I can tell the amoxicillin and cough syrup are helping me out both during the day and night. Jacey slept really well. She only woke up a few minutes before my alarm was to go off. Breakfast at the hotel went really well also. I placed Dublin in a down at the table with Jacey. I dropped his leash and went and got her a bowl of cereal. He stayed! I'm so proud of him. The reason I put him in just a down and not under is because the tables have the center pole making it ackward and hard for the dog to go under...plus the foot room thing. Anyways, he was between Jacey's chair and an outside wall that no one would be walking past.

We made it to 4 Paws with Jacey screaming the entire ride. We went to a park and began tracking for the morning. The FIRST track (yes, we did two today!) was where Jacey walked with the wind blowing across her. I got to feel the tug at the end of the leash today. One thing that they warned us of was not being prepared for that tug, so I made sure that I was. I didn't want to do a face plant and give everyone a good show! But I'll tell you this, I could go a lot faster if I had skis on. Dubbie was pulling like crazy. When he was on Jacey's scent, the leash was tight and as he lost it, it would slacken up a bit. I was able to see his body language and understand what it meant. It is truly incredible what these dogs are capable of doing.

Dublin is off to find his girl...and hot dog treats!

Jacey feeds Dublin his treats and we all praise him for a job well done!

Jacey giggles as Dublin wants more treats from her.

We got to go on a second track at the other end of the same park. This time, Jacey walked with the wind blowing in her face. Judd took the lead with this track and off he ran. Let's just say that I'm a bit sore from all of this running. Dublin again found Jacey and we were able to read his body language as he tracked.

Getting ready for the second track of the morning.

Dublin is definitely on her scent now! (She's on the other side of the white shed.)

Dublin gets more treats as Jeremy and Judd discuss Dublin's track.

Got anymore hot dogs?

Back in the car where it was warm!!!

After tracking was over, we went back to 4 Paws where we learned the "lap" command which is a passive command. You use this when the child is upset. Dublin will just lay his head on Jacey's lap during a "lap". Go figure?! He already does this in the car on his own. They have told us that the more we practice the actual commands the more we will see them without prompting. We also learned about tethering and practiced with another adult doing the pulling. We practiced walking the dog in a "heel" as the other adult pulled and tugged on the leash. We are to just keep praising the dog and motivate them with a treat to keep up if they seem to be getting behind you from the pulling. We can also use the handle that is attached to the harness to help them forward if the child is REALLY resisting. There is still lots more to practice and to learn. They have five different behavior disruption techniques that we will be able to use with Dublin in different situations.

Dublin had to share his "place" with Jacey as she colors.

Learning the command "lap".

Judd, Jacey, and I went to the mall for lunch since we would be meeting there for the afternoon anyhow. Again, the tables were ones with the center pole. So I found a spot near a large post that was part of the mall structure where people would not be walking by, and placed Dublin in a down. He did great! The reason for this mall trip today was to learn about tracking in stores. We went to Sears where Jennifer told Judd to hide with Jacey. We start out on much shorter tracks in stores because in reality, you're not going to have five minutes pass before noticing your child is not with you in the store (well, I hope not anyways!). I found it interesting to see Dublin make large curves into the four way intersections of clothing racks trying to sniff his way to Jacey. Apparently in store tracking, the skin cells don't have time to settle on the ground before you begin and so they will still be in the air. Therefore, instead of his nose being to the ground, his head is up and sniffing the air around him. Jennifer gave commentary as we did the track and I felt fairly confident that I could repeat it on my own.

We then had Jacey walk off with Jennifer and Judd got to give it a try. Between these two short tracks it was interesting to see how much more "on track" Dublin was with the scent. When I had him first, he took large sweeping circles at those intersections of racks. Whereas with Judd, he just barely turned his head into that direction to see if there was scent that way. It wasn't a full body sweeping motion but rather a simple head turn. Very neat to see. I'm hoping that maybe one day we'll video again and put it on the blog. I'm sure you would enjoy seeing Dublin truly at work. It was nice to see Judd take over the handling of Dublin and see that Dublin did well with him.

After running in the morning and walking the mall in the afternoon, I was done in. I needed to sit. So we decided to drive over to Walmart where we had a few things to pick up and would continue to practice with Dublin there. Judd took Dublin and Jacey while I picked up my chocolate fix that I might need during those "emergency situations". :o) (See previous post if you don't know about the emergency situations.) I caught up to them and finished finding the few other things on our list. I took Jacey for a ride in the cart, leaving Judd and Dublin behind. It's fun because you can see the adult walking away with the child by looking over all the clothing racks. But for Dublin, he can't see anything. Needless to say, Judd got Dublin jazzed up about tracking Jacey and off they went in the middle of Walmart to find us. Dublin did great. We did come across an interesting thing right before Dublin found Jacey. There was a woman in Dublin's path and she wanted to reach out and pet Dublin. Judd didn't want to be rude but Dublin took over when he saw Jacey. We praised him like crazy!!!

So then Judd took Jacey in the shopping cart for a little walk through the men's department to have Dublin sniff her out. I got him excited about tracking and off he went. No problem finding his girl! We are so impressed that Jacey doesn't even have to walk somewhere for Dublin to be able to find her. She rode in the cart both times at Walmart and he still found her. Tracking is very intriguing and neat to see in action. We will continue to practice at least a few times each week so that Dublin will continue to find it to be a fun game and to keep us well practiced in reading his body language.

We came back to our hotel room and vegged for a little while. I actually got to take about a fifty minute nap...my body apparently doesn't remember the nap very well because I am getting a bit tired again! I guess while I was napping, Jacey went over to where Dublin was laying down and decided to join him. Judd got some great pictures! After our short reprieve, we decided to try out tethering with Jacey in the lounge. I didn't want to do it at the mall in fear of setting her into a complete meltdown. So we waited to get back to the hotel. She did fantastic!!!! I am amazed at how much this little girl turns me into a liar and does well with things. It was hilarious when Judd placed Dublin in a down and Jacey would run to the end of her tether and she would abruptly stop. She thought it was the greatest thing ever. Go figure! Dublin did great with it as well. He didn't budge an inch in Jacey's attempts to run past the end of her tether!!!

During my nap, Jacey mellowed out next to Dublin for a little bit.

Jacey tested Dublin out to see if he made a good pillow.

Jacey giggles as she reaches the end of her tether.

Tonight was laundry night...of which I still need to fold. Blah, blah, blah. I guess I just need to remember that I only did TWO loads tonight for a weeks worth of wearing. Normally I would still be washing and drying many loads past number two! Jacey again wanted to come sit with me and ended up falling asleep. I've really enjoyed this one on one time with her. I think she has enjoyed it too. Well, I'd better sign off and get in bed before this computer desk becomes too enticing to rest my head on! Oh, and yes, Jacey is still sitting when we tell Dublin to sit or down. Pretty funny!

Nothing like last nights yummy dinner! It was Velveeta Shells and Cheese. (Note to self - don't buy it again!)

Jacey got to talk to Bailey and Carsten tonight. Afterwards, she got really relaxed and crashed on my lap.

Until tomorrow...

Amy

Day 5 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

It seems that each day I start out by telling you how utterly tired I am and how close I am to dropping in my tracks!!! Well, today is the real deal! Jacey decided to grace us with her presence at 4:45 am. That's only two hours TOOOOO early! I quickly gave her Melatonin in hopes that she would relax and go back to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. Nope. Dublin had already gone elsewhere for the night so we brought him back onto the bed with Jacey. She fought me about staying in bed which created a huge meltdown and screaming/crying. Judd came in and helped me praise and pet Dublin during this so that he will recognize that when Jacey screams something good happens. It's basically bookmarking it for him for future reference when it comes to behavior disruption.

Well, let's just say that Jacey took FOREVER to fall back asleep after her meltdown. I figured it was about two hours long for her meltdown to subside and for her to finally calm down. I finally got her to fall asleep snuggling me. Of course, I had to be sitting up with her in my lap so that I couldn't be terribly comfortable. As she finally seemed to mold herself to me, my alarm went off telling me it was time to get up and get ready. I really wanted to ignore it, but knew better so I got up. So this was just the start of the day!

We met back at the Rotary park, the first park we tracked at. However, Christie was not there! Yep, you heard it right! Christie was not going to be there for the track, which meant the dogs would be following strictly the child's scent. I couldn't believe it! I went and hid with Jacey while Judd went along for the track. About a hundred yards into it, Jessa (trainer) turned the Flexi (16 ft retractable leash) over to Judd. And you know what? Dublin FOUND Jacey! I am simply amazed at what these trainers have done with these dogs. We only had two tracks with Christie. And yet after only two tracks, Dublin picked up on the fact that the other scent that was there was Jacey's...and went for it!

Jacey wasn't interested in hanging out in the weather since it was snowing pretty good, so I put her in her carseat which she decided to not like after a short bit. Judd came back from the track that had followed Jacey's and we decided to go back to 4 Paws in hopes that Jacey would be happy to be free in their play area to do whatever (EXCEPT markers!!!). It worked.

We continued to work with distractions and things from the past few days. Jennifer, senior trainer, dropped piles of Beggin' Strips near each dog which were all in a down. Dublin did extremely good. I had a turn of walking with him and the shopping cart near these distractions and he did well. I even really tested him by stopping with him standing right in front of a pile. He did SUPER! So for today, he wasn't tempted! Keep it up Dubs!

Beginning distraction work for the day.

Jacey decides to put Dublin's harness together...but not on him!

Jacey decided to walk along with Mom...

....then wanted to help push the cart...

...and finally, wanted to ride in the cart!

Yep, she wasn't interested in getting out when Mom was done with the cart. Hi Crista!

We went to Arby's for lunch with both Jacey and Dublin. I placed Dublin in an "under" beneath the bench I was going to sit on. I was quite surprised during our meal when he barked. I quickly (as quickly as a Budah belly allows me to bend over and touch my toes) bent over and corrected him with a quick snap of the leash and a firm no. A few minutes later, he did it again! I couldn't believe it. When I bent over to see what was going on, the only thing I could figure was that he wasn't sure of the kids feet across the aisle from us. A sweater was hung over the back of a chair and the chair beyond this one had feet below the table. I can only guess that Dublin wasn't for sure what they were when they moved. I have no other ideas! But he behaved the rest of the time there as I rewarded and praised him frequently for being a good boy.

We all had lots of questions in the afternoon from tracking to corrections to Dublin barking at Arby's. :o) Jeremy also handed out the Flexi for each of us along with a collar to keep attached to it. The questions filled most of the time and before we knew it, it was time to leave for the day. I must admit after being up since 4:45, my eyes got a bit heavy. Tomorrow, I will be sure to bring more chocolate to have on hand for such an emergency!!! :o)

Jacey wanted to give Dublin treats while we listened to Jeremy.

And Dublin wanted Jacey to give him treats!

Yesterday, a gentleman on Trapperman.com emailed us an invitation for dinner as he only lives a few miles from our hotel. We went over at 5:30 and I don't think I sat more than ten minutes during the time we were there! Jacey was upset the entire car ride over and when she was let loose in their house, she found all of the decorations to be the best toys. I chased Jacey during this visit and she wasn't even able to hold still to sit and eat dinner (which was delicious)! Don and Bonnie were very nice and understanding. They told us not to worry about their decorations because they weren't expensive items. We let them know that if we weren't aware of her every move, there wouldn't be one piece left unbroken. We managed to leave their home with Jacey having only broken one item. Dinner was excellent and the little conversation that I was able to be a part of was wonderful. Judd said on the ride home that Jacey showed her true colors at their house - SO TRUE!!! Dublin was super. They kept forgetting that we had even brought him, which was nice to hear since that is the goal of when we go places.

Visiting with Don and Bonnie after dinner. Jacey enjoyed their snowman.

My big belly blurred the first picture so I stood out for this one! :o)

The individuals on Trapperman.com have truly amazed me with where their hearts are. We were shockingly amazed at the auction that they put together with all the items being donated from different individuals. The results of the auction definitely helped us get to Ohio so quickly. We've also had individuals email, offering their homes to us for our trip out here. And then Don and his wonderful wife, Bonnie, graciously invited us over for dinner. What blessings we have come across! The hotel does not serve dinners Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Don and Bonnie saved us from one evening of trying to eat cheap and pampered us with a wonderfully home cooked meal. Thanks Don and Bonnie for opening your home to us and especially for not kicking us out after seeing Jacey's energy level!!! :o)

Jacey and Dublin's dinner bowl.

Dublin is truly a wonderful dog. It was wonderful to see this evening when Jacey ran through the room, he quickly got up from his spot under the desk to run after her into the kitchen, tail wagging as he went. I definitely think he is thinking she's pretty cool stuff since she is feeding him his meals. Tonight, she couldn't sit still long enough to get her hand in the bag more than once to toss food to him. Judd decided to get his bowl and pour his food into it. Jacey layed on the floor as this was done and then quickly grabbed the bowl and began moving it around, just above her head. Dublin was so excited to have dinner and Jacey was very giggly watching him chase his bowl around.
So, here we are... Typing this update onto the blog with fairly droopy eyes. It didn't take Jacey long at all to fall asleep after her bath. In fact, Judd was planning on taking Dublin out to go potty in the next few minutes while Jacey sat snuggling in my lap. He wasn't even able to get outside before she was out cold in my lap. Please keep your fingers crossed that she sleeps in just a bit tomorrow!!!

Enjoying a much more relaxed little Jacey!!!

Well, tomorrow will bring us a new day. I'm sad to know that it is Sunday and that we won't be able to attend church. I'm guessing we will be kept fairly busy though because we will be doing another morning track and then it is off to the mall in the afternoon to learn about tracking in stores.

Well, I think it is time for this Mom to go to bed! Until tomorrow...

Amy

Day 4 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I would be lying to you if I told you that I wasn't sore or tired! This morning we met at 4 Paws to follow our way to a new park for our tracking session. We had Jacey go alone with Christie this time to hide and Jacey just held her hand and went for a walk - no meltdown! I know, unbelievable!!!

It was interesting today watching Dublin's reaction to them walking away. I believe Dublin was the second dog to track this morning. He watched Christie walk away with the other child and didn't have as big of a response when it came to Christie and Jacey walking away. I was holding him with his leash already attached to the harness. We did this because all of the dogs get really excited when they go to the park because they get to play Hide and Go Seek with cut up hot dog pieces and their ball as a reward at the end. We don't want their leash to be attached to the training collar because they get really excited and will run to the end of the leash, which would result in a so-called correction. Not something we want to be necessarily correcting since they know why we are there.

Needless to say, when Dublin saw Christie and Jacey walk off, he started whining and running to the end of his leash and just seemed to get really concerned. Jeremy says that these are some behaviors you will see (when the dog and child have bonded) when your child has, let's say, been playing out back with the dog and your child manages to get out of the fenced area. Your dog will get really excited and will whine letting you know that they think this is time they get to play Hide and Go Seek. These is great for us because Jacey is one who will bolt out of the house if given the opportunity with an unlocked or opened door. To know that we will, over time, gain a second set of eyes to keep on Jacey. We work with the bonding everyday. Jacey feeds Dublin his breakfast and dinner. When she comes near us we will have her stand in front of us and will praise Dublin and give him loves. The good thing that comes from this situation is that he sees her as he is being praised and loved on.

So, back to the track... Jeremy took over with Dublin and psyched him up by saying, "Where's she at? Where's she at? Where's she at? Let's go...Let's go...Let's go...Track." He says this in a very excited voice and off Dublin runs to find the scent. I jogged along with Jeremy and Dublin as Jeremy gave all of us following this track a play by play commentary. After running along with two other trackings, I feel somewhat confident in being able to read the body language of Dublin during a track. I guess in the next day or so, they will put this to the test and have us take over with the actual track. This should be interesting. Go ahead...just picture a prego woman jogging / waddling along after a dog that is extremely excited to get to the end and wants to pull his way there. Maybe I'll get someone to video tape one of the tracks that I head up just for laughs! :o) In the end, Dublin found Jacey, I was out of breath, and Jacey was giggling as I held her hand open and placed the pieces of hot dog in it for her to feed Dublin.

Daddy is a SUCKER!

Softening Daddy up for some more of his pop!

We went back to 4 Paws after our group finished with tracking and learned about the command "place" and how to do it. This is achieved when you have a "place" or a mut matt (a large pad) that you want the dog to go to. This is used a lot like a crate. The dog is not allowed off "place" until given the command "free". The dog must also keep two paws on the pad at all times. They can stand, sit, or lay down, but must stay until given the "free" command. We also did a bit more work in distracting the dogs. We each put our dog in a "down" and dropped the leash. We walked around the other dogs and talked to them to see if they would break their command. Dublin did excellent. I am so proud of him! He really does make me look good. Thank goodness for 4 Paws!!! They have amazing dogs!

Dublin in the "heel" command.

Dublin in a "down".

Such hard work for Dublin to stay in a "down"!!!

After our lunch break, we met at the mall - the part I was dreading all last night and this morning! Judd and Jacey were back at the hotel, so all I had to concentrate on was Dublin "heeling" and following my other commands. I bought a cinnamon-sugar pretzel and was just getting started on it when the trainers showed up. They gave us the option to walk around on our own while waiting to take a turn walking with them, or we could sit and wait. Considering I was a bit nervous, I chose to sit and wait...and eat my pretzel! :o) It was amazing how many people came up to us and asked us questions about the dogs. Lots of little kids stopped to pet the dogs. This was something else that Jennifer had gone over after tracking - how to handle our dogs when children and adults wanted to pet them. We got lots of practice in it!!! I waited patiently for a turn to walk with a trainer, which turned out to be Jennifer. I'm glad I waited. She seemed to think Dublin was doing good but reminded me of the things to do if he got a little too far ahead. Another classmate and I were actually standing and asking Jennifer questions, when a woman came up from behind me while Dublin was in a "down" and started talking to him and petting him. I had no idea she was there! Dublin of course was surprised by it too and stood up. Jennifer told me that because we were both surprised, that this did not require a correction for Dublin. I thought it was interesting that the lady didn't even bother asking if it was okay to pet him first. So - note to self - if you ever come across a Service Dog in public, be sure to ask the handler if it is okay to pet the dog BEFORE you do!!! :o)

After walking with Jennifer, I felt a bit more confident in my ability to handle Dublin. It was awesome to split off from her and walk the mall with just him. It's kind of funny because when they described the mall to us, they said it was just a two level mall. Yep, how about a super duper mega two level mall!!! It veered off this way and that way...oh and this way also. I didn't dare go too far from the food court where we met for fear I might not find my way back! :o) I also took Dublin down the elevator and then up the stairs. We are to not use escalators with the service dog because we know to pick up our feet so that the escalator won't catch shoe laces, etc. Dogs don't. If we were to have to do a real track and the child went up the escalator (which would be Jacey's preference) then you would warn the people on the escalator that you're about to push the emergency stop button, pray that an alarm doesn't go off, take the dog up the escalator when it is at a stand still, and continue your tracking.

By the time we were done finished at the mall, I was pooped. I had jogged for three tracks (which by the way are not short in distance!), and walked the mall for about an hour. It makes me tired just typing about it! :o) I'm guessing I may still be a bit sore in the morning.

I came back to the hotel room where we made a quick phone call to the front desk to locate a walk-in doctor's clinic. Judd took me to it and it was fairly fast since I was the only one there to see the doctor. I think I mentioned it a day or two ago that I've been waking up with terrible coughing fits where I can barely catch my breath. During the day, I can't stop blowing my nasty nose. I called and talked with our pediatrician's nurse earlier in the day, giving her my symptoms. She figured it was probably a sinus infection. Well, the doctor said that I had an upper respiratory infection and I GOT DRUGS!!! Yeah! Hopefully this thing will get knocked before we leave to go back home because it has definitely worn out it's welcome! Jacey and Dublin did quite well at the doctors office considering Jacey was extremely hungry. Oh...and apparently I must be on vacation because my blood pressure was only 92 over 68. Since I've been having monthly check ups because of my "condition", my blood pressure has normally been around 102 to 106 or so. :o)

We got back in the car, where Jacey began screaming again and I praised Dublin and gave him treats. It is kind of funny because the minute my hand goes to give Dublin his treats, Jacey will stop screaming. Same thing with when I praise him. Hopefully he is catching on to the screaming seconds before I say or hand him anything. :o)

We went to Walmart and went straight to the cookie aisle to get Jacey a little box of Barnum Circus Cookies, which made her happy and quiet! We turned in my prescriptions and went in search of possible dinner possibilities for the hotel room. You see, the hotel has been awesome about serving a complimentary dinner every night since we've been here. But they only do it Monday through Thursday. So, for the cost of less than one meal eating out, we bought Hawaiian Punch, cups of applesauce, Chef Boyardee Raviolis, Spaghettios, Betty Crocker Chicken Alfredo boxed dinner, and of course, chocolate covered pretzels! :o)

It was actually quite nice to come back to our room and veg while the raviolis heated up. Jacey was super excited about the punch and was very good about nodding her head yes when I asked her if she would like some! (This is something new that she has been working on in ABA.) After she ate, she got to go in the bathtub where she was very happy. I took Dublin out for a walk around the hotel grounds to work on heeling and other commands. We went to the lobby where I put him in a "down" and made myself a cup of hot chocolate. I even dropped his leash next to him and just stood on it. He did great! I also tested him out on the elevator again which he did great on. He does like to get ahead a little sometimes but is getting better about watching me as he has been corrected for it numerous times. I'm proud of what he and I are accomplishing together as a team. I really look forward to learning the commands for behavior disruption.

Lately, if we give Dublin the command to sit, Jacey will sit down too. :o)
She layed down next to him on his mut matt for a few seconds before he started sniffing her face!

Dinner back at the hotel room!

Well, Jacey should be out by now and I'd like to go into a vegetative state on the couch for a little bit before going to bed.

As usual....'til tomorrow!

Amy

That's a good Dubbie!

Day 2 with Dublin

2010-12-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

As part of the bonding, we have Jacey feed and water Dublin both for breakfast and dinner. We caught a few giggles while feeding him dinner this night.

Enjoy!

Amy

Jacey Feeding Dublin Dinner

PS Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to post videos to my actual blog without it timing out.

Day 3 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I was pooped yesterday...I'm exhausted today! Judd and I waited for Jacey's bedtime to finally get here and I was soooo ready to just crawl into bed. Since Jacey is in bed but not asleep yet, I figured I'd better get this done before I fall over dead! :o)

Today was yet another amazing day. We split our class into two groups yesterday for tracking. I opted to go for the first session at 9:30 am so we wouldn't have to fight Jacey on getting back in the car and going again. I figured she might be a little bit mellow more towards the early morning than the 11 am session when she might start getting hungry.

We followed another family to the park that we would be doing our tracking at and waited for the first session families to all arrive. When it came time for Jacey to go and hide, I was a bit nervous on how she would do with going for a "walk" with Dad and Christie (she is the trainer that Dublin has been tracking). She has been blowing our minds with how good she has been doing things that are not part of her normal routine. She graciously held Daddy's hand and went off to hide. Jeremy and Jessa suited Dublin up in a harness for tracking and allowed him a little more time to watch the direction they went.

Tracking is a very interesting thing...as I am learning! The dog's nose has approximately 125 million olfactory cells to a humans only 5 million olfactory cells. Essentially it is like smelling a candle over and over. Eventually you aren't able to smell it in approximately a minute because your olfactory cells are filled up. You have to move away from the candle momentarily to clean out your cells to be able to smell it again. So, the dog has the ability of sniffing a scent for a much longer period of time. They train the dogs to track using scent obtained from our skin cells that shed constantly. As you shed the skin cells they actually go up in the air above you, I believe, about two feet before falling like snow down to the ground. These cells naturally don't fall directly back on the path that the individual took considering the air is moving. Needless to say, the dog will not follow the exact path or trail that your child took to find where they are at. They follow the path of the skin cells and where they landed on the ground. The longer the skin cells are on the ground, the "cooler" they get. It's like a game of playing "Hot or Cold." The dog sniffs the cells and can tell the ones that are warmer (or more recently dropped) and will follow that trail. As the dog goes about smelling, they naturally make an S shape over and over again as they go from warm to cold smelling the skin cells.

On the way to tracking...

I don't know if I'm explaining this very well, but tracking is a very intriguing thing these dogs do! I would say it took longer for Judd, Jacey, and Christy to go hide than it did for Dublin to find them. Jeremy was kind and did not sprint with Dublin as my belly is bulging a bit these days and I find running a tad bit difficult! :o) Dublin was tracking not Jacey but Christy, because that is who he has been trained to track. What we are doing is adding Jacey's scent to the mix and will eventually take Christy out of the track entirely, leaving Jacey's scent the only constant. This doesn't mean that we will just allow her to run off and hope that Dublin finds her. But we will have a different adult go with her to hide each time so that Jacey's scent is the only constant in the scent equation.

Dublin found Jacey on the track!!!

After all of the first session families had their chance at having their dog track, we went back to the 4 Paws facility for more training indoors. We met with Jennifer, who is the next down from Jeremy in training...I believe her title is "Head Trainer" whereas Jeremy's is "Executive Trainer" or something to that effect! :o)

Anyhew, Jennifer went over distractions again while the dogs are in "sit" or "down". We also practiced, one at a time, heeling and walking around the other dogs that were in a "down". We then moved on to dropping the leash and walking to the other side of the room. We wanted to make sure that our dogs obeyed their command of "down", which Dublin did fantastic with. It is amazing to see how he is really starting to listen to my commands well...granted, he had a moment in class where I think he just wanted to lay there and not get up.

Jacey came and sat next to Dad while she colored with a pen.

Jennifer teaching us about corrections and adding distractions.

After lunch, Jennifer talked of the command "under" and how to use it. This will be done when we are in public and need the dog out of the way. For example, when we go out to a restaurant, we can't exactly have Dublin laying in the aisle tripping people. So I will give him the command "under" and point under the table and toss a treat (for now) under the table. Once he is finished eating the treat, I will then give him the command "down" where he should remain until given the "heel" command. We were told we could use "free" during class to practice but we never want to use it in public because it basically means the dog is free to do whatever, which is not the case when in public. They also showed how we need to put our hand on the front shoulders and apply a small amount of pressure to keep the dog doing what it naturally wants to do - ShAkE! No one wants a dog shaking next to their dinner plates! :o)

I knew it had been a day when Jeremy began talking about the details of tracking and how it all worked. I got a little too comfortable on the couch and would have loved to just close my eyes...just a little. :o) I resisted but Judd didn't. I learned this when I heard him start to softly snore. Yep, not good in class! I got his attention and he was a little better about being alert! :o)

You can tell that Jacey was done. Pretty sleepy since she got up at 6 am.

We had our dogs fitted with their harnesses and Jacey was given a short two foot leash for helping "walk" Dublin. It attaches to his harness so it doesn't interfere with what I am doing with the actual leash. She was pretty cute walking around the room holding onto it, helping Daddy walk Dublin.

The day went quickly and I'm looking forward to another morning of tracking. We were told that it is important to go on as many tracks as possible, including other peoples, so that we can learn the body language the dog gives with the head snaps and the S shape tracking. This way, we will truly know what to expect when we are in charge of the leash on a real track. Apparently, we may be going to the mall tomorrow. We just started all this training on Tuesday afternoon, and I'm a bit nervous about going to the mall. Dublin is very good about following my commands but I fear what the mall will do for his attention being on me. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Well, it is only eight o'clock here but the thought of crawling into bed has already crossed my mind many times! Until tomorrow...which hopefully goes smoothly...

Good Night from Judd, Jacey and me!

Day 2 of Training at 4 Paws

2010-12-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Oh boy...what a day. Last night I stayed up past my bedtime and then had coughing fits throughout the night thanks to this nasty cold that entered into my life as I was preparing for this trip (go figure!).

We arrived a few minutes early to allow Dublin to run free before class started to burn off any "extra" energy. Judd took him out to the fenced area and also to the bathroom. Judd decided to take Jacey to Walmart to pick up a few items that we were needing. They also went for a drive through town and got back towards the end of the morning session. Jacey did not want to go to the play area, but preferred begging me for our backpack of stuff. It turned into a meltdown, seeing that there was nothing in the backpack for Jacey besides her water, graham crackers and fruit snacks. I eventually took Jacey over to the play area and held her. She wanted a deep pressure hug but as usual, I wasn't allowed to sit down and give it to her...so I stood and held her. It was nice to snuggle her as our other classmates worked. I heard most of what was going on even standing in the play area.

We reviewed our commands from the first day - "sit", "down", and "free". We continue to increase the amount of time we expect Dublin to stay in the command given. We added "jump" and "heel" to the list of our commands. Like I said yesterday, Dublin made me look like a pro with heel. There were only a few times that I had to correct him. I'm definitely learning about the times to praise and when to correct him. As other class members went to try out "jump" with their dog, I thought, "Oh, Dublin will get this one." Maybe not. When walking towards the table and giving the command, he would instead walk to the side of the table to where he wasn't going to run into and wouldn't have to jump up. He did this three times. Jeremy, the head trainer, had to up Dublins reward from dry dog food to a Beggin' Strip. It worked. Dublin jumped up on the table.

We will use the command "jump" when wanting Dublin to get on the bed with Jacey or in the car, etc. We are not going to allow him on any furniture other than Jacey's bed. I am definitely learning from watching others in the class. Jeremy will point out different things for us to observe as someone is working their dog or tell us what just happened and what we need to do. I was the spotlight on one of these moments when I put Dublin in a down and he shortly jumped back up to a "sit". I corrected properly but when giving the command for "down" again, I had a treat in my fingers that Dublin was sniffing to death. I didn't give him the treat but thought that I'd better verbally praise him since I didn't want to tease him with the treat. I guess when you have corrected your dog for disobeying, you do NOT give praise or treats...my bad! Hey, at least I'm learning and we still have nine days for perfecting (or something close to it) the things I am being taught! :o)

I took a quick spin around "4 Paws Market" with a shopping cart, simply walking around the room with the cart and having Dublin "heel". He did great with heeling and turning both left and right with the shopping cart.

We also began to add a few distractions for our dogs when they were given a command. I told Dublin to sit(no need to say "stay" because they are supposed to stay in that command indefinitely until you "free" them). Once he was sitting, I walked around behind him clapping my hands or snapping my fingers to see if he would break the command. He did very well with it. We also stepped over our dogs a few times and then would praise them for staying "down". We also tossed treats out away from our dogs to see if they would break their command. If they didn't we praised them and gave them a different treat other than the one on the floor. Jeremy is a great teacher and explained everything very well as to why we do it the way we do it!

I must say that Sushi, a golden retriever in the class was hilarious! Apparently she LOVES tennis balls. It was quite the challenge for her new handlers to keep her in her "sit" or "down" as a ball was bounced nearby. Jeremy took over to show exactly what should be done when the dog breaks a command. Jessa, a 4 Paws trainer, began to bounce the ball and you could see Sushi's head go up and down with the ball. The closer the ball came to her the more temptation there was to disobey. Jeremy told them that if they can master her staying where she is told with a ball rolling or bouncing by her, that going to the mall will be a piece of cake for them. :o) Sushi was so tormented by watching that ball bounce knowing that she wasn't allowed to play with it right then. I wonder what will be the funny thing my classmates think of for Dublin as I did with Sushi in this situation.

Another thing we did was change locations for where we were standing when giving our dog a command. I would place Dublin in a sit and walk behind him. I would then give him the command for "down" and he was very good about listening and paying attention to me. By doing this, it allows our dogs to learn that "sit" and "down" and other commands mean the same thing and should be done no matter where we are standing in relationship to the dog. This teaches allows Dublin to know that I expect the same thing from him no matter where I may be in the house. He did really well with this and always wanted to turn and face me as he moved to his new position. It was great to see that he is really paying attention to me!

Jeremy also went over the difference between "no" and "off". You would think that you could use them interchangeably but you can't! When giving the command "no", I am telling Dublin that this is a behavior that I do not want...EVER. For example, jumping on people. This is never allowed so if Dublin does this behavior I am to correct him with his training collar and a "no". "Off" is used for something that your dog may normally be allowed to do but at that moment is not allowed. For example, we will allow Dublin on Jacey's bed at bedtime to sleep with her but I may not want him on at any other time. I would use the command "off". I may also use this command if I want Dublin to jump down out of the car. I could also use the word "free" for this. This was a very good thing to learn as I don't want to confuse Dublin as to what my expectations are of him.

Jacey again fed Dublin his dinner, one tossed handful at a time. She then got to pour his water into his water bowl. Jacey enjoys these tasks very much. I know that there was a lot more discussed in class, but at this moment my brain and body want to shut down for the night. I'm pooped! I now understand what previous classes mean when they say they were drained by the end of the day, both physically and mentally!!! I would so love to go climb into bed right now (8:15) and not see the light of day until tomorrow morning. BUT....I know that I need to go practice with Dublin obeying commands with distractions so that I may feel confident with his ability to listen to and obey me - especially if we are going to the mall on Friday. Eeeek!

Today has been a great day filled with lots of information that empowers me to be Dublin's capable handler. I can't wait to see what I will look like next Friday as we graduate with Dublin, the Service Dog. (Hopefully Jeremy won't fail me!!!) Until tomorrow...enjoy!

First Day of Training at 4 Paws

2010-11-30T20:53:00.001-07:00

Well, I can officially say, we made it through day one of training - only ten more to go! :o) Our travels to Ohio went fairly smoothly consider Judd's back went out on him the day before we flew. I was pretty much in charge of keeping Jacey entertained and safe. She did quite well on the airplanes (two flights) until the end of the flight when we had approximately twenty minutes left - go figure! Either way, she did better than we expected of her. She loved the airport "people movers", escalators, and the trolley we got to ride. She got a bit giggly over them! So, other than our first flight taking off an hour and a half late because an engine needed oil, things went well.

Waiting for our plane to take off for an hour and a half!

Jacey riding the trolley in Minneapolis to our gate.

Jacey and Daddy by the rental car. (She's saying "doggy")

Jacey crashed at the hotel our first night. A great relief after a long day of traveling.

Sooooo....

You're probably wanting to hear about our day today! IT WAS FABULOUS!!!

Jeremy reeled in our expectations this morning before bringing out the dogs and let us know what to expect. I thought it was good information and made good sense in that we are transferring who his trainer is over to us and that it will take time to establish a relationship of trust. I can't wait to see how I look with Dublin at the end of training.

We got to go meet Dublin in his crate before class began.

We were not the first family to have our dog brought out and it was agonizing waiting for our turn, especially for Jacey. She didn't want to stay with us, she wanted to go to the dog next to us or back to the play area. Not exactly where we wanted her to be when Dublin was brought out. I had to hold her while she had a meltdown because I wouldn't allow her to do what she wanted. Jeremy, the head trainer, saw Jacey's meltdown and told me that Dublin would be next. :o) So, if you're in an upcoming class, if you are waiting and waiting for your turn for your dog to be brought to you, just have your kid have a meltdown and they'll have sympathy on you and your turn will come sooner! I hate to say it, as I'm sure you already know, you probably don't want to go that route!!! :o)

Jacey continued to meltdown in my arms and wiggle about like a worm until Dublin was just about to us when she finally listened to me saying, "Hear comes Dublin, Jacey", over and over again. We were given a ziplock back of treats for Dublin and I held Jacey's hand open with a few treats in it. Dublin quickly gobbled them up, slobbering all over her hand with his tongue. To hear her giggle with PURE delight, was a great joy to both Judd and I.

Out of treats, but Dublin smells them on Jacey still.

Jacey decided to take Dublin for a short walk around the room.

We were lucky to have some fellow classmates take pictures and video of this encounter with Jacey and Dublin. It was truly music to my ears hearing her giggle. I just looked to see if I brought my cord to upload video, and apparently it was left in Montana. Sorry! I'll be sure to upload video when we get home of their meeting because it will bring a huge smile to your face.

The morning consisted of Jacey feeding Dublin his treats and giggling. We loved on him and she showed her affection in patting somewhat hard. After the treats ran out, Jacey ran off! :o) We broke for lunch, leaving Dublin in his crate while we went to find food.

After our lunch break, Jeremy talked a little of how placements are made and why they place dogs at a year. Hearing it made so much sense. You don't want to have a dog that is three years old and used to being pet in a "normal" way to end up in a home where there is a child with special needs that may not pet the same way. You want them young so they can learn to adjust to the child and all the things about that child. An older dog may not be interested in "tolerating" the child's behaviors or sounds.

We started training with the basic "sit" and "down" commands. We started out rewarding Dublin immediately as his bum touched the ground, to making him wait for it as we walked around him. We then moved on to down and eventually walking around him as he stayed down. With the little bit of dog obedience training that I went to with Sasha and Nicky, it was interesting to see a few differences. We aren't to say "stay" because the dog is trained to stay there indefinitely until they are "freed". Jeremy mentioned going to a restaurant and having to give the dog a command to stay every so often isn't what you want to have to do. Dublin made me look like a pro at what I was working on with him. But I feel like there is so much yet to come and to master within the next ten days.

Jacey was really good about staying in the play area. She enjoyed books in the morning and MARKERS in the afternoon. Yep, what do you do?! Take something away from your child, knowing that you're going to get a meltdown and yet you need to be listening to training??? In the end, Jacey didn't have a meltdown and got a bath when we got back to the hotel room...all is well again!

...BEFORE Markers...

...And AFTER Markers!!!

Does anyone know who this child belongs to?! :o)

Homewood Suites is a wonderful hotel with great employees. The room is great. Judd told me when we got here what a great job I did finding this place, but it wasn't me! 4 Paws has an agreement with Homewood that gives us a discount and 4 Paws five dollars a night that we are here. I learned about Homewood from previous classes and through 4 Paws. It has been fabulous.

Jacey got to feed Dublin tonight to help with bonding. I put his food into his treat bag and allowed her to take out small amounts at a time for him. Of course, it immediately went on the floor with a few giggles from Jacey as Dublin went into a feeding frenzy searching out his dinner. She eventually fed Dublin all of his dinner and then I had her fill his water bowl by pouring a glass of water into it. She enjoyed this and eventually wanted to get down on his level.

At bedtime, I thought I would try out having Dublin at the end of the bed. Jacey thought it was great, but eventually started head-butting him on his back. So at this point, Jacey had enjoyed her time and I allowed Dublin to lay in his kennel. It didn't take much time after this for Jacey to fall asleep.

I can't believe that we are here in Ohio, sitting in a hotel room with Dublin. I never dreamed of this day being here so quickly when we were first told that our application was accepted. It is because of the generous people that made our fundraising go so quickly. We are here because of many of you reading our blog. Thank you all. I am deeply humbled by being here and have a very happy heart when hearing Jacey giggle over Dublin.

Well, I'd better sign off for the night so that I can wish my kiddos that are back in Montana a good nights sleep. Until tomorrow!

Amy

Our Doggy Match is Here!!!

2010-11-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

My name is Dublin and I am a Labrador Retriever. I am a member of the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream litter. My sisters Kiwi and Pumpkin are in this class too. We were born 11-1-2009. I am so excited to be coming to live with you. Montana? Is that anywhere near Alaska? I lived in Alaska when I was younger with a boy named Leo. They were my foster family and raised me to be a good service dog then I came back here for the advanced training. I am so excited to be a service dog. I know all about it because my friend Leo, he has a 4 Paws service dog too and I learned a lot from his service dog. She was my mentor! It is hard to believe that you will be here Tuesday and a whole new chapter in our lives will begin. How cool. I can't wait. Hurry to Ohio my friend. xoxo Dublin

Only Three Weeks Away!

2010-11-07T21:16:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that three weeks from tomorrow, Jacey, Judd and I will be flying to Ohio. It is the most incredible feeling to know that our lives are going to change in so many good ways.

I am constantly reminded of all the people who made this possible for Jacey. It brings me to tears to think that this is going to happen in such a short amount of time now. Thank you for being a part of this journey and for making it happen so soon.

Hopefully we will learn of which dog Jacey will be receiving in approximately two weeks. That is unreal! I'll be sure to let everyone know who our match is when we get it! The countdown is going quickly...until next time.

Amy

Top 5 Things We Love About Jacey

2010-10-19T22:11:00.000-06:00

The past few days have come and gone (Especially since I started this a month ago!), leaving me drained and anxious to bring home our service dog for Jacey. I am told that she does extremely well at the Special Ed. Preschool. The minute she gets home however, is a totally different story. It's like she's played the good little girl all morning and has to find anything AND everything to get into!!!

Most of my afternoons with Jacey require me to be standing or on the edge of my chair. The minute I get comfortable sitting down, is when I have to get up and find out what she is getting into. Judd has been working later hours trying to keep up with all of his work he has stacking up. That means that it becomes a LONG evening for me as well. By the time 9:30 rolls around, I have been ready to crash!!!

Jacey has recently discovered the dryer. I can't leave clean clothes sitting in it or she will take the few dirty items she can find and stick them in with the clean ones. She has also increased her passion for wanting in my dishwasher and silverware drawer. She also tipped Bailey and Carsten's dresser over the other day because she had to have all the drawers open. Then she'll move on to some of her old favorites like climbing the entertainment center, finding a bathroom door left UNlocked and squirting loads of handsoap into her hands, dumping toys out of the tub just to play with the tub, unloading the bookshelf in the kids' bedroom, etc, etc. I failed to mention that she also LOVES to climb IN the dryer, not just load it with anything and everything she can find!!! She also has learned to love pulling out my tubs (picture shown) in the laundry room that each hold a different assortment of items - anything from coloring books, Color Wonder pens and pads of paper, File Folder Activities that I have made, shoes, hats, and coats. My shelves go from a bench style that fits three large tubs across, to a unit that holds three large tubs from top to bottom, to a super tall unit that holds six large tubs. (I love IKEA, where I bought them!) Needless to say with 12 tubs each holding a different assortment, Jacey has a blast when she's snuck off to the laundry room.

Needless to say, with the little bouncy ball that she is and has been these past few days, I thought it would be good to think of the Top Five Things We Love About Jacey. Here they are:

1. Her beautiful yet unruly hair that reflects so much of her personality!

2. The way her delightful GIGGLES can make everything else disappear and bring a smile to your face!

3. She sleeps through the night...usually!

4. Even with the diagnosis of Autism, Jacey enjoys snuggling - on her terms of course!

5. The way she lights up when she sees us walk into the room after being away, and then running to us with pure delight!

Jacey is a beautiful girl that we have been blessed with and love dearly. Thanks for stopping by.

Restless BODY Syndrome

2010-10-19T21:49:00.000-06:00

"Restless BODY Syndrome?" you ask. Let me explain:

I once had a person tell me that a child with Autism at bedtime can be much like someone who has had MANY cups of coffee. They are just wired and have to let it run through their system. Tonight I would say it was a 9 or 10 cup night for Jacey. Not as bad as when she had 23 cups a few weeks ago! :o)

Restless Body Syndrome is another description I have come up with after laying with Jacey for forty minutes tonight. We lay down with her every night to get her to go to sleep. Otherwise, she is up climbing on the dresser or changing table, turning the light on and off, playing with the fan, unloading all the blankets in the drawer under the crib on top of Kenna...and all of this of course upsets Kenna who will then cry. So we lay down with Jacey until she falls asleep.

This summer we cut out her naps and that made the time for her to fall asleep SOOO much faster. It used to be an hour and a half, easily, before she would fall asleep. Now, it usually takes about fifteen to maybe twenty minutes. Except for tonight of course....

When we lay with her, we completely ignore her and (I) pretend to be asleep (Judd isn't good at pretending!). (I'm HOPING that Jacey will allow the service dog to take over our job of laying with her!!!) She wiggles and moves about, covering herself with her blanket and kicking her feet to make sure that they are covered too. Then the blanket comes off and she rolls over to her other side to snuggle her blankie into her face. That might last a few seconds before she is turning back over to her other side. She will try to cover herself again with the blanket but decide she doesn't want it when she just about has herself completely covered. This goes on and on and on.....Until she finally finds that magical spot and position that works for her.

She is kind of like watching fireworks. She is constantly wiggling, and every once in a while you think she's at her grand finale with even more wiggling and then will finally settle down. But you discover that it is not her grand finale and the show goes on for another thirty-eight minutes! And finally after she has had her true grand finale of wiggles, she falls asleep.

So for the forty minutes of laying still on Jacey's bed I had a lot of time to think. It was this time when I came up with Restless Body Syndrome. So many people suffer with Restless Leg Syndrome, but for Jacey it is not just her legs, it is her entire body. And tonight happened to take forty minutes for her to get it out of her system.

....And to think if I just had half the energy she has.....

It's Been a While

2010-09-08T21:32:00.000-06:00

I guess it has been a while since I've updated everyone on the happenings of Jacey. Would you like an update? I thought so....

For the past month, I have been filling out paperwork to get Jacey ready to start services through the Autism Waiver. Officially, she was finally ready to go on September 1st. Everything was put together that had to be done and we had a habilitation aid (hab aid) scheduled to start working with Jacey Monday through Friday from 2 - 6pm, starting yesterday. We ended up knowing the individual that was going to be Jacey's Hab Aid. He stayed for the full four hours yesterday just hanging out with Jacey to get her comfortable so that she will want to perform the different goals we have outlined, for him. I got a call this morning saying that he had quit, stating that the he just wasn't cut out for that line of work. I was so excited to have things in place SOOO quickly. I am grateful that he chose to leave the job quickly rather than hang out for some time and then quit. Needless to say, it was a disappointment because they are currently short on Hab Aid's and there is no one to replace him. So nothing is scheduled for now with ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis).

On a happier note, I finally got the video that 4 Paws wanted showing Jacey and everything about us. It was just over two hours long. Also, Jacey has started in a self-contained Special Education Preschool. It is in "town", so I get to be her bus driver and take her there everyday, all 16.1 miles one way. She is doing fairly well and as her teacher put it, "She's not one of the one's that stands out." (Meaning she is fairly content with minimal meltdowns.) She has speech twice a week, OT (Occupational Therapy) once a week, and we are working on getting PT (Physical Therapy) worked into her IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for once a week. I know, it's amazing how many acronyms you learn as a parent of a special needs child! Needless to say, she is pretty content at school - they have a sand table that is also used as a water table occasionally, they have baby dolls, a little kitchen area, and more. She's usually found transferring the water or sand, whichever it is for that day.

It's funny because a few days ago, while working on our video for 4 Paws, I thought about how Jacey's "need" of a service dog may not have been as great as some of the other children I know receiving them through 4 Paws. And then today HIT! Let me brief you on it...

We've noticed in the past six months or so that Jacey has gotten a LOT happier. Believe me, she still has her moments but they seem to be fewer and farther between. Until today. After I arrived at the preschool to pick her up, she noticed an open door that I hadn't seen. She bolted for it. I had to set Kenna down and run to get her. She had just barely made it out the door, which turns out to be a door to their play area. After that, she didn't want to walk the same way Mom was going. She'd rather sit since she wasn't getting to go out "her" door. My arms were a little full between carrying Kenna, Jacey's lunch box and her coat. It was quite the fight to get her to our van. After fighting her to get to the van, I was pooped. I still had all afternoon to wrangle her. My day became that much longer as she cried and screamed the entire ride home - all twenty something minutes!

Getting home where she could run didn't soothe her enough and so I continued to listen to her cry. It didn't help that Kenna decided to chime in and become a little duet with her sister. Both girls were demanding my arms and my attention. I figure it was at least three hours of Jacey crying for long periods of time with short bits of silence (I assume to catch her breath). :o) Jacey was tired, as evidenced by several yawns. But we have cut out her naps so that laying down with her at bedtime would become a max of twenty-five minutes, compared to an hour and a half when she was taking naps.

Needless to say, my sweet little reminder chimed in today to tell me that yes, her "needs" for a service dog are just as great as any other childs. I was also reminded of the sanity the dog will bring to me. ::sigh::

I am so grateful to be heading to Ohio THIS year. I thought for sure that we would still be fundraising well into 2011. I've had the men and women on Trapperman.com and the individual donors in my mind a lot lately. Without them, we would not be going to Ohio in eighty-two days.

I had to go to the bank today to figure out where three unknown deposits to our Donation Account for Jacey had come from. Two of the three were made in cash. In case you are one of those three mystery deposits, thank you for your donation to our account. Jacey is a very special little girl to have so much love surrounding her. Hopefully soon, there will be a fence surrounding her as well! :o) That one is still in the works because of numbers.

Until next time...pray for my sanity!

Blessings from Above

2010-07-28T09:40:00.000-06:00

This month has been surreal! I was informed back in June that there would be at least one slot in the Children's Waiver Services opening in July. (The CWS gives services for Jacey that Insurance doesn't provide.) Needless to say, I was the squeaky wheel that called the Developmental Disabilities Program coordinator, Lori, to see when the slot would be filled. She gave me the date that they would make their selection not for just one slot but two. I called that afternoon to learn that their system had required them to make choices for their adult program first. The date got pushed back another two times. I called each time she thought they would have it completed. To say the least, my nerves were shot waiting to learn if Jacey would get one of these slots.

Lori called me when they were able to make the selection. The two slots had three children that were eligible, each less than a point from each other's priority score. My nerves were even more raw knowing that Jacey was one of the three. In the end, Jacey was given a slot starting August 1st. I was amazed, humbled, and overwhelmed with the feeling that Jacey was being watched over.

When Lori told me that Jacey had received the slot, she also told me that a slot was opening up in the Children's Autism Waiver, another program with a larger budget to work with Jacey. This slot would be filled by a lottery drawing. Since I don't gamble, I didn't hold me breath and had completely forgotten about it until I received the phone call. Jackie was calling from the Developmental Disabilities Program (which I assumed she was going to want more information for the Children's Waiver Services), when she informed me that Jacey had been chosen for the Autism Waiver. I was shocked and didn't know what to say.

Between these two experiences and the fundraising for Jacey's service dog having gone so fast, I feel so blessed. I know that Jacey is being watched over by our loving Heavenly Father. I am so grateful to know that we have help again for Jacey. She has so much potential and she's been given the chance to shine through the Children's Autism Waiver.

As a mother, I want so much for Jacey to excel but had no way of funding all that it would take for her to go far. (We're still waiting to hear from insurance.) I am extremely humbled to have been blessed with not just having received the slot in the Children's Waiver Services but the Children's Autism Waiver slot as well. I never would have dreamed that I would have to choose which Waiver to select for Jacey. It is incredible. We've gone with the Autism Waiver since it has a larger budget and is more intense. It requires Jacey to receive a minimum of twenty hours a week of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for blessing Jacey with such wonderful things. It is amazing how she has been blessed in such a short time by people who helped us achieve our fundraising goal so quickly and to also have been chosen for the two waivers.

And to think that all these things are blessings from above. Jacey is a very special little girl...

Humbling Thoughts

2010-07-09T20:42:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted here. I didn't feel like I had anything worth while to write about. Until this past weekend.

A family that we are friends with had a terrible tragedy. I was shocked when the announcement was made over the pulpit at church of their loss. I couldn't believe it and felt somewhat numb like it hadn't really sunk in - Their three year old grandson was accidentally run over in a parking lot and killed. He was a beautiful little boy full of energy who was constantly on the go. This family holds close to them the knowledge that they will one day be reunited with their son/grandson/nephew on the other side. They know that he is in a better place and free of any pain. I am grateful to have this peace in my heart, of knowing that they will be reunited one day and that death is not the end.

I attended the funeral of this sweet little boy and sat next to my mother and father-in-law. Karen (MIL) showed me her pile of Kleenex and I told her I had some too if she needed it. I thought to myself that I was going to be just fine. That this wasn't my child, wasn't a child that I knew hardly, but that I mourned for the family. However, the minute they brought the itty bitty Hurst by in front of me, with his little shoes resting on top, the rains came pouring down! How fragile this life is, how we need to enjoy each moment, how I need to hug my children a little bit tighter and tell them I love them dearly even more often than I already do. Life passes us in a blink of an eye and for this little boy, it was cut even shorter. The funeral was beautiful. This little boy's mother sang a beautiful song and lullaby - how she was able to get through it, I'll never know. His aunts sang a children's song, and another aunt played a beautiful lullaby on the piano. I cried like I haven't cried in an extremely long time!

The reason I write of this event is because it reminds me how grateful I am to know that Jacey is receiving a service dog. Every day, both at home and in public, I fear she will somehow get away from us and something is going to happen. This winter, she managed to get away from Judd in a crowded church hall. He found her standing out in the middle of the parking lot in sub zero temperatures without her coat on. It brings me back to how important it is for me to never let her go, but as she gets older, bigger, and stronger, the fight to hold onto her gets more intense. I am so thrilled to receive a service dog that we will be able to tether her to for her safety and my sanity. This reality of coming comforts is only made possible because of people like you who helped us achieve our fundraising goal.

I pray that I will never have to bury one of my children. I pray that this family that I speak of will find peace in their hearts. And I pray for my children's safety. This experience has given me an increased appreciation for my children and for each of their individual personalities. I appreciate Jacey and for her increased desire to want to be near me. Might we all go to our children, whether they are young or old, and give them a hug and let them know of our love for them. My children are one of the biggest blessings in my life and I want them to see my feelings in my actions. Life is too short to let anything get in the way of spending time with those we love.

I'm going to go give my children another kiss goodnight...

Jacey's Third Birthday!

2010-06-14T15:58:00.000-06:00

I'm still not quite sure how my little Jacey can possibly be turning three. Time has flown by. She has grown up so much - she is definitely a little girl now! I thought you might all appreciate a peak at her birthday party. Enjoy! We did....

A monkey cake for our monkey!

What's all the fuss for?!

Is that my cake?

Don't worry Mom, just scoot it a little closer and I'll take care of it!

What fun looking blocks...

And the favorite - a flashlight!

We have Officially Made It!!!

2010-06-02T13:32:00.000-06:00

(Memorial Day Madness for Jacey!)

I talked with Karen today at 4 Paws for Ability and it's OFFICIAL!!! We have exceeded our fundraising goal of $13,000. We are now on the class list for November 30th!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who helped us achieve our goal. Your prayers, thoughts, donations, and emails are greatly appreciated! I still can't believe that we have achieved our goal, officially, in such a short time. I thought for sure it would take us at least nine months to maybe a year to raise $13,000 for 4 Paws for Ability.
I definitely know that this was something meant to be for Jacey. Have you ever experienced something in your life where when you first learn about it, hear about it, see it, or whatever be the case, you know it is the right thing for you, your family, or someone close to you. That is what I felt when learning about Autism Service Dogs. I knew that this was something Jacey would thrive in life with. I knew that this was one of the best things we could do for Jacey. So, I researched, came across 4 Paws, did some more research...and applied for an Autism Service Dog for Jacey. Waiting to hear back as to whether or not we were accepted was a killer, even though most everyone is accepted! I was extremely giddy at the thought of having this amazing tool in our home. It would allow us to do so much more, and give Jacey the freedoms that I long for her to have.

And then, when you know and feel something is soooo right and you feel like nothing can stop you, reality sets in, or someone tells you that you won't be able to do it, or they tell you that maybe it isn't right for you. Whatever these doubts are, they take hold and you fear that your beautiful dream is just that - a dream. You begin to doubt your ability to achieve your dream, you doubt whether or not you should have turned onto this road, and the light at the end of the tunnel seems to get dimmer and further away.

Looking back at this dark time for me, shows me that I was definitely doing something that was right, something that would help Jacey succeed in life. The people that came forward to help us in our fundraising efforts, those who did so much more than just donate money, the prayers that were offered for Jacey and our family, how quickly we finished fundraising. All these things tell me that what I was doing for Jacey was right, but that someone did not want me to succeed. I am grateful to have the knowledge that we have a loving Heavenly Father who watches over us and that I was strong enough not to let the darkness take over my determination for what was best for Jacey.

This journey that I have been on has been amazing. I wouldn't trade that dark cloud that had been over me for anything. I have learned to know the bitter from the sweet because of it. I have become a better person. I have been blessed to learn of what a wonderful world we live in and the great people that surround me. Thank you for being a part of this journey with me. Thank you for being such a huge force in making this dream come true for Jacey. What you have done for Jacey and my family is remembered every day. Thank you....

A Gift in the Mail

2010-06-01T10:12:00.002-06:00

Along this road we've been on in getting Jacey a service dog, we have "met" many wonderful people. It continues to amaze me with the things people want to do for a little girl with special needs! We have been blessed by people who have given so much, when they themselves are having difficult times. Whether the difficult times be financially, medically, or any other number of things, these people still want to give for Jacey.

Among these people is a man by the name of Kirk. He is one of those amazing people we met through Trapperman.com. Kirk bid things up on the auctions and reminded people that the auctions were for Jacey. He was the winner of at least one of these auctions. Instead of having one of these items mailed to himself, he chose to have it sent to Jacey.

It gets better - Tinemaster, who had donated the items for the auction, sent a little extra something from his daughters, Ashlee and Katie, for Jacey. Here are the pictures of the gifts Jacey received in the mail. Thank you Kirk and Tinemaster. We thank Heaven everyday for what you've done for us. May God bless you for where your hearts are!

Judd helps Jacey open the package

Jacey sees something she might like!

All Jacey can say is "Doggy, Doggy, Doggy!" And giggles...

(It is a fox)

Jacey actually looking at the camera!

Judd shows Jacey the heart shaped necklace that Tinemaster's daughters, Ashlee and Katie, added to the package!

Of course, Jacey has to taste test it like everything else.

Judd shows Jacey the beaver tooth necklace...

And of course, Jacey has to try it.

(Thank you for having it preserved with something Tinemaster!!!)

Jacey enjoying all of her new things! She loved the "doggy" (aka fox)!!!

Thanks again Kirk and Tinemaster!!! Jacey will have something to hold as we tell her about the wonderful people who helped us get her four-legged friend. Jacey has a lot of angels looking over her - thank you!

Walking...With a Glimpse of the Future

2010-05-19T21:20:00.000-06:00

Today was a heck of a day. It seemed that most of the day was going from one thing to the next that Jacey was climbing on. I would walk over to her climbing my kitchen drawers where I would tell her that was a no and set her down. Then she would be off to the entertainment center in hopes of climbing on that. I would have to hurry over to tell her no again and set her down. Usually at this point she screams and pitches a fit. Then she attempts to turn the TV on and off...on and off...over and over and over again. I stand there and remove her hand from the buttons on the TV only to have her attempt again and again and again. Imagine this all day long! It got really tiring, especially when I didn't sleep well last night.

I wasn't able to fold laundry, I couldn't wash dishes, I couldn't leave the room to use the bathroom, and so on. By the end of the day with Jacey, I was emotionally spent. Thankfully Judd arrived home before I lost my sanity completely.

As I type this I am trying to get Jacey to go to sleep. She is climbing on her dresser, playing with her curtains, climbing on the dresser again, playing with the CD Player that is on top of the dresser, opening and closing the door repeatedly, and again climbing on the dresser. Thankfully I'm taking something good from this and videotaping it for our video for 4 Paws. Hopefully they get the idea that she is a CLIMBER!!!

Anyways, after Judd had gotten home and I had been able to relax for a little bit (Thank you Judd!!!), he decided to take the kids for a walk. I thought it would be good to get out and enjoy a nice walk with the family and be able to enjoy the nice weather with them. The two older kids road their bikes while the two little girls hung out with dad...granted Jacey was running ahead a little bit. I held the leash to Sasha as we walked. On our way back down a little hill on our road, Jacey wanted to grab the leash from me. I let her have it and it brought a huge smile to my face. Jacey was ecstatic! Oh, if you could have heard her giggle with delight!!! She would look back now and then with a smile for us as she trotted down the road with Sasha.

Seeing Jacey hold the leash and walk with Sasha, and hearing her giggle with pure enjoyment made me want to cry as it does now. It allowed me a glimpse into the future when we have a Service Dog for Jacey. It allowed me to see and hear the delight within Jacey that will come with the independence she will gain with a Service Dog. Walking today did much good for my soul. After the day I had, I think Heavenly Father knew exactly how to buoy me up for another day with Jacey. I am so grateful for the glimpse into what it will be like with a trained dog next to Jacey. All by choosing to take a walk with my family and our dog Sasha.

....Now I just need a glimpse of what it will look like to have Jacey go to bed without climbing on everything!

Reflections

2010-05-16T22:09:00.000-06:00

It's funny looking back to when Jacey was just a baby and remembering things that were "different" than the older two kids. About two weeks after Jacey was born, she quit taking a binkie (not that she loved it before then). I can't remember at what point this actually started occurring, but when she got upset, she was upset!!! Not even nursing would soothe her. All you could do was lay her down in her crib and close the door behind you. It was hard to bond with her and I felt like a terrible mother because of this.

It seemed that as she got older she got a little happier. She got a little happier when she was able to sit up, then a little happier when she could crawl, and a little happier when she was able to walk. We both recall really beginning to like her when she was about eighteen months old.

It was always funny going to the grocery store. I'm sure you all know what it is like to go up to a cute baby and talk to them in hopes of getting a smile from them. On many occasions, I would be out grocery shopping with her and my other children. People would come up and try to get her to smile. I felt so bad for them because I knew that the chances of them getting a smile in return was extremely slim!!! I always told the people that if they did get a smile, they would know that they had earned it. It was hard for even Judd or I to get her to smile. I'm not saying that she never smiled, but you definitely had to work for it. Grocery shopping was a different experience having a baby that would just stare at strangers smiling at them.

The spring before she turned two, the local school had a Preschool Screening. We went and had all of my children evaluated. They also include hearing, and vision for the older children. It is fun to watch your child interact with the therapists and see what skills they would display for them. Everything from stacking blocks, feeding a baby doll, hopping on one foot, identifying pictures, and many other things. When I took Jacey to it just before she turned two, they found delays. They were interested in contacting me later to talk more about what we might want to do. At that time, I just figured that Jacey had been "blessed" with the stubborn jean (and I'm not telling from which side!). She never would perform for anyone, not even Judd or I. So, I just figured that the reason they showed delays was because she was so stubborn.

By the time summer came around, things were beginning to decline. Jacey started loosing the few words she did say. Everything was a fight - from brushing her teeth, getting dressed, to changing her dirty diapers. We finally went to our Pediatrician in hopes of learning what to do. I love our Pediatrician, but that day was overwhelming. He thought that she might have ODD - Oppositional Defiant Disorder. He told us that we had to throw all of our parenting out the window and start from scratch with her. He also said that we had to create an environment where she couldn't get in trouble. I wanted to go home and cry! How could I change EVERYTHING about how I parented my children? How could I create a safe and discipline free environment without removing most every piece of furniture.

He also had us set up an appointment with the behaviorist to see what she thought. Our appointment was at the end of summer. We saw her, but were extremely disappointed with the "bed side" manner. We had to fill out a gazillion questionnaires before our visit. Her nurse came for us and did most of the hands on testing with Jacey. When the actual Behaviorist walked in, she sat down and talked with us about the questionnaires we had filled out. The only interaction she had with Jacey was checking for reflexes and muscle tone. Woo Wee (insert sarcasm)!!! I was not impressed! Needless to say, the questionnaires we had filled out leaned towards some behaviors in the Autism Spectrum. She never told us that Jacey had Autism but that she wanted to re-evaluate her in six months. In the meantime, she had us start Speech and Physical Therapy.

When almost six months had passed and Jacey was not progressing, we finally looked at the option of having her evaluated by the North Central Evaluation and Consultation Team. It is a group of specialists that come together and play with Jacey. They used the DSM-IV which is considered the "gold standard" for diagnosing Autism. After evaluating, observing, interacting, and playing with Jacey for about two hours we left for lunch. They would go over what they had collected and come up with a report for us regarding their findings.

We came back and sat down with the team while Jacey went to play in a different room with a Family Support Specialist. All I can think of was the moment that they told us they felt that it was Autism and that she was right in the middle of the spectrum. My mind was in and out from that point forward. How could they decide that after such a short amount of time with her? What did we do now? Where could we go for help? How was I to raise a child with Autism? My mind and body started to shut down. It was a horrible feeling. I was so devastated, I was crushed. I had gone to the evaluation and consultation thinking that they would tell me that she had something else, something that she would outgrow, that it wasn't Autism.

That day, Judd and I drove down to Billings for some meetings he had to attend to. My mother-in-law, Karen, stayed home with our older three children and we took the baby. It was a good time for me down there. I had some quiet time where I could think and reflect on the things that I was told. They had given me a kit for the "First Hundred Days After Diagnosis" for Autism. It was on that trip that I decided that they were the experts and that I needed to accept Jacey's diagnosis. I had to be her advocate because no one else would be. I started researching like crazy and talking to people that had more experience than I did. That is when I learned about Autism Service Dogs.

I hope that if someone is reading this that has a child that is "stubborn" and has delays, don't procrastinate having them evaluated. Don't just assume that they are stubborn. Learn for sure if there is anything causing the delays. I can't change how we did things, but the one thing I wish we had done differently was to have her evaluated sooner. Early intervention is critical!

I'm still working on so many things to try and get Jacey the help that she needs. I am learning and growing in all of my research, but I definitely feel it is beneficial to have Jacey get help from people that have more experience with Autism. If I don't advocate and fight for her, no one else will! I feel that I have dealt with the grief process by fighting for her. I don't have time to cry and wallow away in self pity when there is a beautiful little girl needing my help. Writing these feelings have brought tears to my eyes thinking of how my baby will always have hard times. I just pray that I might do everything in my power to make life a little easier for her.

Amy

In Complete Awe

2010-05-13T09:38:00.001-06:00

Where do I begin?

When I first started researching Autism Service Dogs, it was as if a huge load had been lifted from my shoulders. There was something out there to help Jacey. The path was clear - fund raise $13,000 for 4 Paws for Ability. Insurance has not been so clear. We sent in a predetermination letter that was denied for coverage of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis), saying that it was unproven and experimental. I now have to send an appeal to insurance to fight against their decision, since ABA is one of the best and well known therapies to help children with Autism. Who knows how long that will take to get things cleared up and hopefully have services in place.

I was so giddy with excitement when I learned that Jacey had been approved through 4 Paws that I thought the skies were the limits. Once reality set in that we had to come up with THIRTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, my dream of having a service dog for Jacey began to collapse. The amount that we had to fund raise was SO MUCH! I held true to my determination of getting things started. I sent letters, emails, and called the media. I thought that maybe over the next year we might make a dent in the amount needed. I had no idea that I would be here today to tell you all that we are there! Between the auctions at Trapperman.com, family, friends, Judd's co-workers, and other donors, they've made the goal happen. It makes my eyes well up with tears just thinking about the intense amount of love and support that we have received in less than two weeks.

Trying to wrap my head around the idea that the service dog isn't a dream anymore is so difficult. I was not prepared to be done with fundraising SOOOO quickly. I joined the 4 Paws Yahoo Group in hopes to get ideas for fundraising and wanted lots of ideas so that I could plan out different events to help make the $13,000 goal. Yet here I am telling you all that we're done.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am simply amazed. There are no words to express my true feelings at this moment. However, if you saw me...I'm sure you would see it! :o) I don't think I have ever cleaned out my tear ducts like this before!!! I told Judd not to worry about crying because I'm doing enough for the both of us! Thank you so much for supporting us through all of this. People have come forward that not only wanted to donate their money but also their thoughts, prayers, and ideas. Thank you!

I'm sure everyone still wants to be kept up-to-date on where we are with getting ready for the dog and actually bringing the dog home. Don't worry - I will DEFINITELY keep everyone up to speed on what's happening.

So I thought that the support would probably taper off now that we have reached our goal. But it hasn't.... Judd called a gentleman that he had been in contact with that had wanted to donate the last thousand dollars towards our goal. Judd let him know that we were already there. But he still wants to donate his funds somewhere and we just have to let him know where it is needed.

But it doesn't stop there! Judd just called to let me know that a co-worker had informed him that there is an anonymous donor that would like to purchase our airline tickets when the time comes to go out to Ohio. What do I say to this other than thank you? I am truly speechless..... I have never in my life experienced such an outpouring of love from people, including strangers. Thank you to all of those who have made this dream a reality!!!

From the bottom of our hearts we thank each and everyone of you! I look forward to Family Home Evenings, when we can look back at this and tell our children about all the good in the world. I am constantly telling Bailey and Carsten about the wonderful people that are wanting to help us get the dog for Jacey. I hope that one day Jacey will understand the magnitude of all that has taken place so that she could receive her four-legged friend. You all have amazed us beyond our wildest dreams!

Amy

Trapperman.com

2010-05-12T09:52:00.000-06:00

You're probably thinking, "What the heck is Trapperman.com...and what does it have to do with your service dog???"

It was brought to my attention that one of my previous posts had mentioned something about Judd's forum that he loves, but never mentioned what forum that was. The forum that I was mentioning was Trapperman.com, and I apologize to everyone over there for not having actually mentioned the name earlier.

Since starting this blog, I have had a very exhilarating experience with fundraising. I don't feel that I personally have done as much fundraising as Trapperman.com (and I think I have done a bit!). This forum of men and women are one of the main reasons that tears come to my eyes when I think about what has been done for Jacey and my family.

For those of you who don't know about Trapperman.com (and for those who do), let me tell you a little about what they have personally done for my family. I know I had mentioned earlier that Judd had gone to the moderator to see about posting our story and the fundraising we were needing to do. Judd was unsure about it because as trappers, they are always being asked to contribute funds to help with this fight or that battle. We both were unsure of the response Judd might get from the forum but thought that we should at least try. At most, we thought that maybe a handful of people would see the post and maybe make a small donation towards our $13,000 goal. Judd was given the okay to post it and that it would be "stickied" to the top of the forum for two weeks. We had no idea that this would have even been a possibility.

Well, the story gets better from here! The next thing we know, there were a few people that wanted to donate items for them to auction off in honor of Jacey. This took Judd and I by complete surprise. Remember, we were just hoping that a handful of people would see the post. It has grown into something that we could never have pictured...not in a million years! This auction has taken off like a wildfire and we're not sure when the giving is going to end.

The auction that started out with just a few items from different individuals has now turned into more than eighty donated items from many individuals and businesses. They are continually adding more and more items. What I find the most interesting is that the people who are donating and bidding on the items talk of not bidding them higher to "win" the item, but to help Jacey receive her Autism Service Dog. The warmth of the individuals on Trapperman.com has humbled us more than anyone can ever know.

Because of Trapperman.com, our goal of $13,000 seems to be getting closer and closer by the hour! As of last night, the total bids were over $8,000. And since last night, many more items have been donated! It is absolutely incredible. Judd and I are completely amazed at the hearts of people. We are so grateful and eternally indebted to the men and women on Trapperman.com for what they have done for us. Without them, I don't believe that I would feel as confident and sure about when we might complete our fundraising goal. We have learned of a new branch in our family tree and we are so excited to call them family. Hopefully, we may be able to actually meet them one day...with the service dog! Because of Trapperman.com, after only a few weeks into fundraising, I feel like we may need to turn our focus onto travel expenses in the near future. Who would ever have thought?

Thank you Trapperman.com for helping make this service dog a reality.

We are truly blessed!
Amy

A Surprise Article on Jacey

2010-05-10T11:31:00.000-06:00

I got a phone call from Judd this morning telling me that I was famous. He told me to check my email because there was an article about Jacey and me in the Billings Gazette. I was dumbfounded! How did that happen?! It turns out that one of my emails that I had sent out had been looked at by Ed Jorden, a good friend from the time that we lived in Billings a few years back.

Apparently he writes for the newspaper in the Pet section. Judd's co-worker from Billings emailed Judd this morning with the link to the article that she had read in the paper. I am continuously being amazed at how this thing is spreading. Thank you Ed for sharing our story. And thank you to everyone else who is sharing our story that we aren't aware of...yet!

Amy

How Long Before We Get Jacey's Dog?

2010-05-09T22:33:00.000-06:00

I have had a few people ask me about when we will receive Jacey's Autism Service Dog. It's funny because when the Heather Desiena from the news station came out and interviewed us, she asked when we hoped to have the fundraising completed. Judd told her that he hoped we would be done in six months. I thought that was a great pipe dream that Judd was living. I thought it would be wonderful if we could get the fundraising knocked out in maybe nine months to a year.

Since that interview, a lot has happened! I have been incredibly amazed at the generosity of others. They are not only changing the world for my daughter, but they have already changed me. I feel extremely humbled by all that is happening for our family. I always seem to tear up when I think about the people that have come into our lives in such a special way. I am indeed grateful and very humbled by this experience.

So, Judd's answer of six months may be more like, oh, maybe two months? Granted, we haven't gotten to our goal of $13,000 yet but we feel that we may be their shortly. We have found a new set of family on one of Judd's forums that he frequents. I used to wonder how he could be on the site for so long ALL the time. Since he first approached the moderator of possibly posting something about our fundraising efforts to right this minute, my view has changed of this forum. I always understood Judd's need for talking about his interests, but I have learned that the forum has REAL people with personalities!!! It has been great to learn of this new family that we have found in this forum.

Okay, I know I get off in tangents A LOT. So back to the question at hand - "How long before we get Jacey's dog?"

I thought that this would be a question that would be answered in six months. So I called 4 Paws for Ability and learned more.... Once we complete our fundraising goal of $13,000, we will be sent a letter stating when our class we be. Since we are having the dog trained in tracking and retrieving, it will be approximately 9 to 12 months out. Currently it is around nine months. The reason it takes so long from the time we complete our fundraising is because of more extensive training.

Once we complete the fundraising, we have to send in a very descriptive video all about us. They want to know our house, how it is laid out, our yard, our neighbors, what dogs live where, what livestock is nearby. They want to know about all four of my children, about me and my experience with dogs, and they want to know EVERYTHING about Jacey. They want to know what makes her smile and giggle. They also want to see her have meltdowns...the bigger the better. They want to see how Jacey does when we are in public. The video will be very comprehensive so that they can have two to three dogs picked out that fit our family and Jacey's needs the best. So, once we complete our fundraising, we will be given a class date and they will choose those two or three dogs based on our video. They then take those dogs and train them in tracking and retrieving. That is what the 9 to 12 months comes from. They want to make sure that the dog they pick for Jacey doesn't have a success rate of 80% in tracking and retrieving. They want the dog that does it 100% of the time.

I am so excited to know that we could have our Autism Service Dog home for Jacey within the next twelve months. Thanks for helping make this possible. We really appreciate everyone that has donated towards our efforts and passed our story on. Nine months from the time we complete fundraising for 4 Paws for Ability, we should be on our way out to Ohio to pick up our dog and go through training. I can't wait!!!

How I Am Feeling...

2010-05-07T17:32:00.000-06:00

Thankful, appreciative, indebted, astonished, flabbergasted, dumbfounded, taken aback, grateful, amazed, overwhelmed, speechless, dazed, shocked, blown away, floored, astounded...........Humbled!!!

There is not one word that can perfectly describe this feeling that I have within me. The love and support that we have been shown this past week is all of these words and more. Thank you.

Amy

Jacey's Story is Getting Out There

2010-05-05T23:09:00.000-06:00

I appreciate everyone taking the time to share our story with their friends and loved ones. It is amazing what has happened this week. I have talked with people that say they got the email and wanted to double check about how to send a donation through PayPal. I have thought to myself..."I didn't send it to you...How did you end up getting it?" And then I learn that a person I had sent it to, emailed it to a few friends, who in turn emailed it on to them. Someone contacted me about a possible avenue to go down for sending out more emails in regards to Judd's profession. I mentioned it to him and he told me that somehow this avenue had already been taken without him knowing it. I am repeatedly amazed at the people that are wanting to help. I just pray that we may be able to one day pay this forward to someone else in need. Thank you for being such a wonderful example to our family. I look forward to looking back at this once we have had the dog a few years, and sitting down with my children during a Family Night, to tell them about the marvelous people that are in this world. About how we were so richly blessed with love and support.

Again, the purpose of this posting (as the title tells), Jacey's story is getting out there. We were interviewed by News Channel 5 on Monday afternoon and they aired it tonight on the 6 and 10 o'clock news programs. I thought you would all be interested in taking a peak. It will let you sneak a peak of Jacey...in action! I'd love to hear what you think of the segment!

Thanks,
Amy

In Complete Awe...

2010-05-05T13:19:00.000-06:00

Between Judd and I, we feel it has become a wonderful full-time job trying to keep up with the thank you's and letting everyone know how truly special they are to us. Every time I go to write a thank you letter, it seems my typing becomes a little more difficult to read because my eyes get something in them that make them tear up.

I am simply amazed and extremely humbled by this experience. This world is full of wonderful people that want to make a difference when it comes to the important things in life. Thank you for changing how I view the world. Thank you for caring for Jacey and her needs. Thank you for making us a part of your family. Thank you for being who you are.

Like I said in the earlier post, I began to doubt the ability to fundraise $13,000 in a reasonable amount of time. Since then, you all have given me the hope and the determination to make it happen faster than I originally thought. It is achievable. Thank you for being such a support to our family. I have never in my life experienced such a flood of support. I just keep telling Judd that this support we are finding is turning into a wild fire and that it is spreading like I could never have imagined.

I guess the main point of my posting today is to thank each one of you for your tender hearts. Thank you for being SOOO kind and generous not only with your wallets but your time, your talents, and your prayers. Our family has been touched in a way that I don't think most people experience in a life time. Thank you for brightening our day. Thank you for caring for Jacey.

One thing I would like to ask of you - please go to the 4 Paws For Ability website and read their story. Read why they are in the business of training service dogs. It is beautiful. I am grateful for the experience that Karen had and for her determination to make a difference for others. It is somewhat long, but well worth the time. I am grateful for your belief in us....I would love for you to believe in the mission of 4 Paws for Ability as well!

Thanks again...Until next time,
Amy

Overwhelmed with Gratitude

2010-05-03T12:16:00.000-06:00

Judd and I have been amazed at how much support we are beginning to get. Judd posted on a trapping forum last night and also sent an email to a few people this morning, all about our fundraising efforts. In a very short amount of time, we have been greatly blessed with people from all over coming out to support us. Judd's forum has started an auction in honor of Jacey with people wanting to donate items for it. People from his work are wanting to not only donate money for our cause but have also volunteered their time to help us raise funds.

We have heard from people that we don't even know that are donating. The mission of 4 Paws for Ability is an amazing one and I am so grateful to be a part of their fundraising efforts. To those who have donated, are wanting to donate, and help in other ways - Thank you for where your heart is. Thank you for opening my eyes to the wonderful things that people do.

When we were first accepted to receive an Autism Service Dog, I felt like nothing was impossible, even raising $13,000. Over time, after posting on Facebook and sending out lots of emails, I began to wonder if this was achievable. I began to doubt people. I wasn't sure how long it would take us to reach our goal. But within the past twenty four hours, I feel that it isn't impossible. Thank you for giving me a stronger hope at what the future can hold. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Amy

My First Blog Posting - EVER!

2010-04-30T14:00:00.003-06:00

I am the mother of a beautiful girl who has autism.

Let me tell you a little bit about Jacey. She is two and a half years old, turning three in June. She was diagnosed with Autism on February 2nd, 2010. That is a day that will forever be with me. The diagnosis was devastating, yet relieving; it was overwhelming, it was surreal. You see, at about the age of two, we knew Jacey was delayed. We began speech and physical therapy in hopes of getting her back up to age level. Six months passed and she still was not speaking and her meltdowns were just as bad as before. We finally decided that we would have her tested by the North Central Evaluation and Consultation Team for Autism. I hoped that it would be ruled out and that there would be another explanation for her delays. When the team came back in and told us that it was Autism, that Jacey was right in the middle of the spectrum, I was shocked. I think time froze after that. The following days were a blur. I came up with reasons why the diagnosis couldn’t be possible, but eventually gave in to reality.

Since that time, I have learned a great deal. One of the greatest things that I have found in my searching of treatments and therapies is Autism Service Dogs. Currently, we cannot let Jacey go for even a second because she will run from us. A service dog would allow Jacey the ability to have more freedom when we are in public by having Jacey tethered to the dog and being able to walk with the dog. A service dog would also be able to track and retrieve Jacey if she were to get away from us, comfort her when she is upset or having a meltdown, and keep her from dangerous activities and bad behaviors. It would give me another set of eyes to keep Jacey safe. Jacey loves animals and bonds with them so well. I would love for her to have an Autism Service Dog that could give her the love and comfort that she doesn’t seek from us as much as from animals.

This is where you come in! Jacey has been accepted to receive a service dog but we must meet our fundraising goal of $13,000. I know that I can’t achieve this goal on my own and this is where I need you. Help me help Jacey. You can fill out the attached Fundraising Donation Form and mail it with your donation to 4 Paws for Ability, or you can go to their website at www.4pawsforability.org/donation.html where there are directions to donating online. Be sure to include Jacey’s name in the notes/shipping instructions/special instructions area so that it goes towards our goal. Thanks for helping us make an Autism Service Dog a reality!

Sincerely,

Amy & Jacey Brooks

***Would you please be kind enough to pass this on to everyone you know so we can get the word out. The sooner we achieve our goal, the sooner we can get a dog that can give Jacey the companionship she needs!