Author: Pam Hogle

Never Too Young for Good Dental Habits!

Pam Hogle The Thinking Dog Blog

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Dotty wants to be just like big sister Orly. Which is (sometimes) great!

For instance, Orly loves to brush her teeth!

So, a few days after Dotty came home, I introduced her to the toothbrush. The first time, she got to sniff and lick it, Honestly, she wasn’t that interested.

She did watch closely as Orly got her teeth brushed — and got rewarded with a cookie.

The next day, Dotty was eager to try out the toothbrush, and she licked it a little.

Over the next few days, I slowly started to put the brush in her mouth, very gently touching her teeth.

Now she’s a pro. She sits calmly, little tail wagging, while I gently brush her tiny, needle-sharp puppy teeth.

And of course she eagerly accepts her cookie when I am done.

What Goes Up …

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What, or who, goes up … doesn’t always come down.

Stairs.

Orly learned how to go up and down stairs well before I met her, and never had any issue with the (many) stairs in our house.

Dotty had not encountered a tall staircase, and found the steep mountains in front of her a little scary.

She did quickly master the short 2-3 steps to the back, and then the front yards. Down first. Up took a little longer, but she got that too.

Next up — the house stairs.

My old-school attempts to lure her, one or two stairs at a time failed. I started with the stairs to the office, thinking the rubber runners would give her a good grip and ease her fears. She was willing to stretch enough to reach the treats on the edge of one step … but not move her paws so she could reach farther.

We tried the carpeted basement stairs, with a non-slip mat at the bottom. No luck.

Hm.

Stumped, I asked the expert (Glenn, who runs Dotty’s service dog school).

He said that going down would be less scary than up. Dotty is clearly not related to me. My (mild … ish) fear of heights makes going down far more uncomfortable.

Anyhow. He suggested sitting with her a few steps up from the bottom and letting her think about it for a while. We did that, then I let her walk down 3 steps. Success.

Golden pup Dotty looks up a tall flight of carpeted stairsWe did that a bunch of times, slowly adding a step or two.

I also worked in the other direction, carrying her most of the way up, then letting her tackle the top 2-3 steps.

We practiced all of this over a couple of days, also working on what Glenn calls the “follow me” routine. This encourages the puppy to go wherever I go, which she is naturally inclined to do anyhow.

 

Dotty progresses up the carpeted stairsAfter a few days of steady success with small numbers of stairs, I took a leap of faith. She seemed more confident on “up,” so I headed up the stairs with my hands full of stuff, and called out “Come on girls, follow me.”

Not surprisingly, Orly trotted up the stairs. Dotty hesitated. Whimpered once. Then she got a determined look on her fluffy little face and … followed me all the way up!

Dotty reaches the top of the stairsProud of herself, she did a little dance at the top. And eagerly accepted her reward — lots of praise and petting as well as a cookie.

She also soon figured out that she could get herself up the stairs any time she wanted. Only problem is … we’re still working on down the stairs. She’s gotten herself upstairs several times now, realized she was alone, and, yep, next thing you know, I’m running up the stairs to rescue 18 pounds of wriggly puppy who has instantly transformed from despairing to delighted.

A “Little Sponge” Indeed

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White golden puppy Dotty jumps on big sister Orly, a blond golden retriever As I said in the little news story on Dotty’s service dog program, Dotty is a “little sponge” soaking up, well, everything. (That includes what Orly is teaching her …)

However, on the positive side, she:

  • Learned how to go down the 3 steps from the deck into the back yard
  • Learned how to go back up those 3 stairs
  • Discovered the wonders of string cheese as a training treat
  • Figured out how to get food out of multiple types of food toys
  • Encountered & conquered an ice cube
  • Mastered the snuffle mat
  • “Paddled” in her water dish
  • 10-week-old white golden puppy sniffs a snuffle mat made of strips of fleeceTaught Orly to snuggle with her
  • Helped me mow the lawn and pull dandelions
  • Had a bath and pawdicure
  • Stole the hearts of dozens of Missoulians and countless email and text friends

… All in her first two days.

She’s learning how to go up and down larger flights of stairs, brush her teeth, walk on a leash, and more. In between her many short training, learning, and exploring sessions, she sleeps. A lot. She settles down nicely in a large crate or pen, but prefers to lounge in the grass or on a huge dog bed. She loves toys, especially ducks and the small chirpy chick that was one of Orly’s baby toys. And anything that makes a crinkly sound.

Orly is teaching her to eat grass, try to break into the newly reinforced raspberry patch, stare down squirrels, chase her tail, wrestle, and collect her fair share of the egg tax.

 

 

WHAT Have I Gotten Myself Into?!

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Golden retriever Orly, standing on grass, play bowsSeveral years ago, I trained service dog puppies. I also taught at a school for service dog trainers. I worked with dozens of volunteers, including many puppy raisers. But, until now, I had never been a puppy raiser.

Missoula used to have a mobility service dog program called Pawsibilities, run by Glenn Martyn. Glenn also was one of my teachers; he’s an outstanding dog trainer with deep and varied experience. And he’s working on re-establishing his service dog organization.

Through a series of events that could only happen in a place like Missoula, where all the dog people know each other, Orly’s dog hiker met Glenn because Glenn was training my friend/neighbor’s puppy (who hikes with her because I made the match …). They seemingly cooked up this idea during a training session. Orly was on board too.

So, by the time Glenn asked whether I would be interested in puppy raising … well … I am not sure that “no” was an option.

9-week-old golden pup Dotty runs with hears flying out to the sides
Photo by Christina Phelps

So here we are.

Dotty, named for my late grandmother, came home last night. Orly immediately invited her to play. Despite tumbling Dotty over a couple of times, Orly showed exceptional manners and is already a great big sister.

Dotty has learned to use the steps from the back deck to the grass — she went down last night and figured out “up” this morning. She’s also been introduced to food-filled chew toys, string cheese, and a water bowl (almost) big enough to swim in. She is learning to sit for meal prep. She already knows to ask to go outside and has not (yet) had an accident in the house. She seems to know about the magic sit, in fact, and takes treats very gently. She had a bath and had her very sharp little nails trimmed this morning, and behaved perfectly throughout.

We’ll follow her adventures over the next several months, as she learns all the skills she needs to be a great service dog!

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Orly LOVES Sleepovers

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3 dogs sleep in dog beds, while golden Orly looks around to see if one wants to play
Wanna play?!

Orly loved her first sleepover.

Her human hostess, the Missoula Dog Mom who takes her hiking a few times a week, was ready. Some of Orly’s buddies were waiting.

When I left, Orly followed me to the gate. She looked a little worried when I left her inside after I went outside. Dog Mom called her over and cuddled her, and as I drove off, Orly’s tail was wagging.

A short time later a looonnnngggg video popped up on my phone. In it, Orly was racing madly around the huge fenced yard and trying hard to entice a doodle pup to chase her. The doodle chased, then wandered off. Orly resorted to more solo laps. She was prancing and leaping and dancing. Her tail never stopped wagging.

Orly loved sleepaway camp.

In the photo, she’s the one falling out of her bed, probably trying to get one of her sleeping pals to wake up and play some more.

She pretended to be happy to see me when I picked her up. She was pretty tired and went right to sleep after dinner.

By the next day, though, she was bored. In true teenager fashion, she sighed loudly as she slumped down, bored. Bored. BORED. The only thing missing was a phone for her to fiddle with.

She’ll be getting a surprise soon, though. One that (who?) will banish the boredom. You’ll all read about it in next week’s post.

Orly’s First Sleepover

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Golden retriever puppy Orly lies in a muddy river, coated in mudWe’ve packed her food and put clean sheets on her dog bed. We’re taking Orly for her first sleepover as we head out to spend a long weekend at Yellowstone.

She watched the prep with interest. The only time she has slept away from home was last summer when we went camping, and she loved that. She’s also had fun aunties stay with her at home while I traveled for work.

This time, though, she’s going away, alone.

The dog sitter is the same amazing fun person who takes Orly hiking a few times a week, and who always has a carful of friends for Orly to run around with.

She has visited her dog sitter’s home, and she was delighted to find her buddy Henry there (he lives there) as well as some of friends from her hiking group.

I was with her, though, and we only stayed for about an hour. When I drop her off tomorrow, with bed and breakfasts (and dinners), she’ll be off on her first solo overnight adventure.

She’ll go on hikes with her buddies, play in the huge fenced yard, and have slumber parties with the other dogs. She’ll probably eat too much junk food and stay up too late.

I’m sure she’ll have a great time. And that I will miss her far more than she misses me.

Not All Dogs Are Career Dogs

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Koala, a black Labrador, wears her guide harness.The post about Ida last week and some conversations with a local service dog trainer got me thinking about the many reasons that dogs don’t succeed in a career as a service or guide dog.

For Ida, the issue was anxiety; she was uncomfortable with unpredictable sounds, with airplane travel, and possibly with other unavoidable features of life as a working dog.

Why else might a dog bred or selected for training as a guide or service dog be released?

For many puppies, and even adults or working dogs, leaving the field is the result of a health issue. Alberta retired 7 years ago after losing an eye to a benign tumor.

For others, it’s temperament. They are too nervous to work safely in public spaces, for example. I’ve known dogs with top-notch skills who simply couldn’t function in a busy public place where pets aren’t expected to be, like a grocery store or a restaurant, or even a busy park.

They may be uncomfortable around unfamiliar dogs; Deni has encountered untrained “service” or “support” dogs in airports and other public spaces who growled or lunged at her working dog. These dogs are too scared and reactive to be safe working in public.

Some dogs have specific fears, like dogs who are afraid of thunder, that mean they cannot focus on their work.

Sometimes, the problem is behavioral: A dog who is so obsessed with food or distracted by squirrels or tennis balls, for example, that she cannot focus on her work will be released.

Working dogs need to be calm under all circumstances, keep working even when they are tired, and not react to other dogs, cats, small (or adult) humans who invade their space and touch them or repeatedly call their names. They need to be flexible and resilient and able to regroup, change direction, and keep their handlers safe.

Working as a guide or service dog asks a lot of a dog and exposes the dog to many things pet dogs never have to worry about. It’s not surprising that many dogs who begin the training don’t complete it. Or, like Ida, once they see what the job is like, they quickly realize that they are overwhelmed.

I am glad I met Ida. She’s a sweet, smart girl. I’m also happy for her that she will have the kind of life she needs and deserves.

 

Not Meant to Be

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Black Lab Ida wades into the water to stand near Deni, dressed in shorts and tank top, holding a long blue leash.
Ida’s first visit to the dog beach

A guest post by Deni Elliott

The partnership that develops between a well-bred and trained guide dog and a visually impaired human looks and feels like magic. However, as was the case with Ida and me, sometimes things just don’t work out.

Alberta, my first Guiding Eyes dog, and her successor, Koala, matched me perfectly in very different ways. I wasn’t surprised that Ida was not like the others; I thought of her as my sensitive girl.

However, after three weeks with me, Ida made it clear to my Guiding Eyes home trainer and me that she really didn’t want to be a guide dog. I am grateful that Ida made her choice before we set out together on a trip in which she would have needed be comfortable at my side while I gave a professional presentation in Chicago, attended some meetings in Salt Lake City, and then got to know her golden retriever sister and life in Montana, with many hours in airports and flights on Delta in between.

Ida got the life that I suspect she wanted all along — being a pampered pet with the family who raised her from the age of 8 weeks to 16 months. My previous two guides are happy too: when Koala retired after more than 6 years of guiding, she happily returned to her puppy raiser. Alberta, who retired early due to an eye tumor,  is now 12 years old. She lovingly watches over my toddler grandniece, who has shared food with the dog since she was old enough to fling it from her high chair.

I will be fine, even though I miss having a dog at my side and am temporarily using a white cane to help with navigation. Guiding Eyes training staff and placement specialists have come to know me well over the past 10 years; They are working hard to find my next perfect match.

My first two Guiding Eyes partners taught me that dogs with different temperaments can be equally good guides:

  • Alberta exuded confidence. Give her a challenge, and she’d rise up on her toes to say, “Bring it on!” More than once she responded to my uncertainty by nuzzling me to say, “We can do this.”
  • Koala was my introvert, analytical and thoughtful about new environments, but five weeks into our relationship, she flew with Pam and me to Israel without complaint and happily worked trains and open air markets in Jerusalem, as well as guiding me safely up and down the centuries-old stairs that traverse Tzefat.

Ida was brisk, responsive, and responsible when in harness and loved being praised and rewarded for her good work. That’s why she was matched with me in the first place! But, when off duty, she increasingly startled at unexpected sounds and sights, including wind in the trees and birds flying overhead. Within a few weeks, she could no longer shake off whatever surprised her and became more intensely anxious more of the time. Ida taught me that a smart, creative dog can hide her true feelings in her eagerness to please — at least for a while.

A successful guide partnership is a tapestry of collaboration, cooperation, communication, and trust. My dog trusts me to know our ultimate destination and give her clear directions about where we are heading. I trust the dog to alert me so that I can navigate curbs and stairs and locate door handles and empty chairs. She steers us safely around obstacles that I would run into or trip over. Most importantly, she quickly gets us out of the way of vehicles that might run us down. The partnership works only when dog and person agree that the dog has final say in all guiding decisions. We live by the Guiding Eyes mantra: Trust your dog.

Sometimes puppies decide as early as 8 weeks that they are not cut out for the intensity of guide work; others make their reluctance clear as adolescents when learning guiding skills. Dogs past their prime slow down when they are in harness, signaling to their partners that they are ready to retire. Unfortunately, as with Ida, sometimes the dog’s decision comes at a sad time for all of the humans involved: When placed in a real life partnership, they decide that a guide dog’s life is not for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Spring (Maybe …)

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The Thinking Dog Blog is taking a break to enjoy some gorgeous spring weather. We’ll be back soon!

Golden retriever Orly reclines on patchy green grass
It’s FINALLY nice out. Let’s go for a hike!

Introducing Ida: A New Thinking Dog!

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Black lab Ida holds a green rubber toy with her right paw while chewing on a Nyladbone wedged inside it
Ida uses a toy to hold her chew bone steady.

The Thinking Dog Blog finally has some wonderful news to share: Deni recently welcomed Ida, a new guide dog, to the family!

Ida, who just turned 2, is a black Labrador retriever from Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

She’s a great addition to the Thinking Dog clan: She’s smart, seems to be an adept problem-solver, and learns quickly. As a young Lab, she’s also high-energy and very playful.

Black Lab Ida wades into the water to stand near Deni, dressed in shorts and tank top, holding a long blue leash.Like Deni’s first Guiding Eyes dog, Alberta, Ida loves it when Deni — or anyone, really — notices her cleverness and comments on how well she’s doing her job. She’s super-friendly and feels entitled — obligated? — to greet people on walks, even starting to head up sidewalks or driveways if neighbors are outside when she’s on a (non-working) walk.

Like Koala, she’s a bit analytical and likes to think things over. During her first visit to the dog beach (on a long leash!) she needed to think about whether sand, surf, and starfish were good things.

Ida inspects two small starfish on Deni's handOnce she felt comfortable, though, she had a wonderful time. And, back in the fenced dog run area near the beach, she raced around joyfully with another young dog. And, on her second visit, she ran playful, joyful circles as she made friends with other dogs and stepped tentatively into the rough surf.

Black Lab Ida yawns as she rests near the huge bill of a flamingo sculpture, with Deni standing next to her
The Tampa-St. Petersburg airport features a gigantic (and possible scary) statue of a flamingo

Ida is a happy, bouncy, curious, very social dog who is eager to play. She is still settling in and learning what the life of a working grown-up dog is like, of course, and she might have found the giant flamingo sculpture at the Tampa airport a little unnerving … but who wouldn’t?

She’s also still learning Deni’s routines — and quickly picking up the “extra” skills that all of Deni’s dogs learn, like finding a trash can as soon as she’s done “parking” (a euphemism for pooping).

She caught on quickly to opening gifts on her 2nd birthday — and gleefully played with her new toys! She likes to use her paws, standing on one gift to keep it in place as she removed the tissue-paper wrapping. And she holds her toys while playing with or chewing on them.

Ida is young, and adjusting to a new dog — especially after several years with a precise, polished pro like Koala — is going to be a challenge for Deni. But the two seem to have forged a close connection already, with Ida responding quickly when called even while running happily with another dog.

Their next big adventure together will be a visit to Montana in May — including a few days at Yellowstone. I hope Ida isn’t afraid of bison!

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