He Never Ceases To Amaze Me

Things have been somewhat interesting here since Wednesday, when we got word that our 'new flooring' was going to be put in Thursday. It sort of messed up the whole last half of our week. We weren't expecting things to happen on the spur of the moment like that, but ok.

Wednesday night I had to go for groceries alone, though Sidney helped bring them in and put them away, our plan had been to go Thursday morning after our walk, so my hubby could go along. He was working Wed. night, so I did my thing alone.

When I came home and we were putting things away, I had bought a flame less candle for my son's room and was showing it to him when a plastic part of the packaging fell on the floor. Without hesitating or receiving a command, Kodi was right there, picking it up and offering it to me. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

The flooring wasn't exactly what we thought it was going to be and cost us more than we anticipated. We hadn't thought ahead very well, because Kodi has trouble walking on it. It's a 'hardwood floor' product made of PVC. It has wood grain texture, but not enough for him to 'grip'. So we've had to purchase area rugs to keep him from falling.

Today, Sunday, I was working on dinner. As I was trying to serve it, he was sitting next to my power chair. I put one arm of the chair up, out of the way, the one with the control pad on it and the joystick fell off.

Before I could give the commands, he was behind my chair, picking it up and offering it to me. I was stunned once again!

Kodi and I have spent some wonderful moments together this past week. Besides sharing some great, cool, gray morning walks and an evening walk in the dark, we have shared some cuddle time on the bed.

The weather, being rainy and damp, can sometimes bring on arthritic flare ups of pain, so a brief rest on the bed is called for from time to time.

He got up on the bed and lay down across the bed, so I did the same next to him. He proceeded to roll over on his back, resting his front legs which were drawn up against his body on my shoulder and pressed his nose in under my chin as he softly sighed and made little noises. He licked my face and ear, nibbled my nose and cuddled as close as he could get.

He's been up on the recliner with me the last few days about a half dozen times, curling up between my legs with his head resting on my forearm.

He seems to know when I'm not feeling the best and wants to be that much closer to me at those times.

When we went out to get the area rugs it was raining when we got back. I asked my husband to go in first and take Kodi out the front door, so I could get in and situated before he came back inside. When I come in the house from being out, he just loses it with excitement and joy. He jumps on me, kisses, nibbles, cries and wiggles himself into a frenzy. I didn't want him to hurt himself on the new floor.

Everything went as planned, my husband got him outside as I snuck in the side door. I sat on the couch, ready and waiting. When he came in the front door, Kodi ran for the kitchen and side door, looking for me. When he saw me, he cut short and raced for the living room. He slid and couldn't get his grip as he cried and wiggled madly.

My hubby put him on the couch with me where he welcomed me home with a shower of doggy kisses.

My husband sighed and said "he did a quick pee when I took him out, he was too busy looking for you. He went around the car and the driveway looking to see where you were."

We are so close and need one another so much.

I'm trying to help him adjust to me going out and coming back and he's doing much better than he was doing, but we have a long way to go and know it will happen with time and patience.

I'm simply in awe of how incredible a companion he is.

Assistance Dog Training

Kodi has shown a desire to be with me at all times. I can't leave one room and go into another without him following me. I can't go outside, even for a moment without him, as he stands just inside the door mournfully calling me. When he is near me, he has to be touching me.

Having such a close bond with him, it seemed only natural that we should try teaching him a few 'assistance' commands.

Kodi has been learning obedience commands, the two we have been working on the most recently are 'bring it' and 'drop it'. I decided this might be a good time to see if Kodi could learn 'pick it up' and 'paws up'.

I started with 'paws up', asking him to put his paws on my lap. He didn't understand, so it took taking his paws in my hands and saying 'paws', then putting them on my lap and saying 'up'. We did this a few times with rewards each time until he was able to do it himself.

I read up a bit on owner trained assistance dogs and discovered the method for teaching your dog to 'pick it up'. I used an old clicker with a coiled ring attached, tossed it to the floor and asked Kodi to 'pick it up'. When he didn't understand, I touched it to his mouth, dropped it again and said 'pick it up'. We did this about a dozen times, until he picked it up. Even though he immediately dropped it, he was experimenting with what I wanted him to do. We did it again and again, as he held it in his mouth longer each time. He was rewarded with treats each time he completed the task.

After several successful attempts, I added 'paws up'. He was able to pick it up, stand up against my leg and hand the clicker to me gently.

Since that day, he's picked up a tea towel, paper plate, jar lid, my keys, the cordless phone, remote control, a fork, a wrist watch, a tablet, a pen, a crystal figurine that fell on the floor, a whisk, his collar, his leash, a piece of mail, a dvd cover, a jar of spice, a meatloaf mix packet, a doilie that fell off my nightstand, a sock that fell when folding clothes, his brush, and my hair tie-back.

The next thing we will begin to work on is closing the front door behind me when we leave the house, as the area I have to turn my power chair around is quite tight and the stairs are in that area so it could be quite dangerous as well.

I'll tie a piece of playground rope around the door handle with a knot in the end and teach him to grab the knot and pull.

Kodi wears his "Halti" when we go out to walk, as well as a backpack with some essentials in it that we need. He carries my house keys, cell phone, occasionally things I might pick up at the store when we're out and he carries his own travel water bowl (sometimes bottled water).

I bought some Service Dog patches and affixed them to the backpack. One with a hand with a red slash through it saying "Do Not Pet Me - I'm Working" and the other two are rocker patches that say "Service Dog" and "In Training".

"Paws up" has been a great command when taking off the backpack and halti after our walks... as well as getting my keys out of the side pouch.

I've read where an owner trained their assistance dog to unload grocery bags. That might be something I teach Kodi later on, as they usually end up on the floor when brought into the house because I don't have enough strength when sitting in the chair to lift them onto the counter and I can't lean out of my chair far enough to reach them safely.

He's learning exceptionally fast. He tries hard, though he has to be motivated with a treat to perform to any command. That is the puppy in him, as he matures, I feel confident we will become more consistent and need less rewards.