Big Changes

For a little while now, Kodi and I haven't been seeing eye to eye. He's been crabby, growling, moody.

I consulted someone who trains dogs and they suggested that my female problems, the menopause, the changes in my body, emotions, etc. can be sensed by Kodiak. She said, "you probably seem like a whole different person to him."

She also suggested that since I clip his toenails and trim the hair on his feet while on the bed, and the bed seemed to be the place where we were most at odds, perhaps he felt threatened by me on the bed. She thought maybe he was claiming the bed as his.

Since then, some of my female issues are more under control. Kodiak got pretty aggressive on the bed this past week, growling and nipping at me. I'd had it. I snapped and gently swatted him on the side of his muzzle telling him "No!"

He lay there, still, then I told him to get down off the bed. He did. He walked around the bed and came back up on the bed, his head down, snuggled up against me and licked my face.

Since that day, he's been amazing. There's been no more odd behavior on the bed, no more grumpiness, no more growling, he's not jumping off the bed as soon as I come close to it. We're playing multiple times a day on the living room floor, because it's still too hot and humid to be outside playing.

I would never advocate hitting a dog, I felt terrible about having swatted him, it was a knee-jerk reaction out of frustration, but it appears he was claiming the bed as his and threatened in some way by me being on the bed. I claimed the bed, dominated him on the bed and the issue is gone.

I've had a couple people also suggest that for whatever reason he was viewing me as weak, inferior, because of my illnesses and health problems, that he thought he could dominate me.

Again, I feel terrible about swatting him, I didn't use any force, just made contact, but it was enough for him to understand the severity of his mistake and make corrections.

At Odds

It seems that Kodiak and I are a bit at odds lately.

It's been terribly hot and humid outside. We are experiencing sustained temperatures in the upper 80 and 90 degree range with humidity above 84%. Our nighttime temperatures are in the mid to upper 70's, so it's terribly uncomfortable outside.

I'm trying to walk Kodiak in the mornings when it's cooler, but we don't go out in the yard to play much at all during the day. On several occasions he's vomited when we've been walking, drooling excessively, panting so hard, I knew he was minding the heat. I don't want to risk heat stroke.

We play inside, in the air conditioning, the best we can. That typically means bouncing a tennis ball for him to catch, playing tug-0-war with his stuffed animal. It's just not the same.

It's as if he translates the lack of walking and playing as me punishing him. He acts like he's afraid of me, ducks when I reach to pet him, growls at me whenever he's on the bed and I'm near the bed, as if I'm threatening him somehow. I'm really stumped about what's going on with him.

I've talked to a number of other friends who have dogs, service dogs, and they've told me they are experiencing something similar right now too. Their dogs are 'off', 'odd', not quite themselves.

I can think of no injury to his head, no symptoms of seizures, etc. I can think of no physical reason why he would have such a change in personality.

What is so puzzling, is that he's inconsistent. For several days, he's a doll, obedient, compliant, willing to do whatever task put before him, then he will take a sharp left turn and suddenly require a great deal of prompting, convincing and cajoling to get him to even 'come' when called.

I know that huskies, by nature, are stubborn dogs. They are very headstrong and have a reputation for being obedient, even for years, then suddenly behaving as if they've never heard their name before, don't know you, etc. I'm sure some of his behavior can be explained by his breed characteristics, but some of it certainly has to do with lack of exercise, boredom. Huskies can be very difficult, destructive, when they are bored. They need to be stimulated constantly, whether through interaction with humans, other dogs or toys that cause them to problem solve. They need to have a 'job' to do, something that challenges them.

Unfortunately, right now, my power chair is in the shop and I don't know when I could get it back, a motor seized up. We aren't even able to walk right now, it's been 6 days since our last walk. I don't know what else I can do to keep him active, keep him from being bored and crabby.

Right now, I guess we'll be at odds.... it's almost like he has a 'time of the month' when he's crabby and irritable. Is there such a thing as 'male doggy pms'? LOL

"Pick it up" in Public

Took Kodi for a walk Saturday morning. He was such a good boy. We had a great opportunity to see if he could perform a simple task with his Halti and gear on.

You might remember that we had a problem in the past with him performing a simple 'pick it up' task when he was wearing his walking gear. We had worked and worked on it, following the directions of a Service Dog training organization, but it didn't go well at all.

Saturday, while walking we passed by an empty coffee cup, laying the middle of the road. It had a plastic lid on it and was a pretty large cup.

I decided to stop and ask him if he could pick it up. I asked him twice, as he nosed it, rolled it around a bit, seeming to assess how heavy it was. He tried to put his mouth around it, but it was pretty wide and smooth, so he had some trouble picking it up that way, so after mouthing it and figuring out the best way to pick it up, he gently took the edge of the cup lid in his mouth and picked up the cup.

He offered it to me, high enough so I could reach it. I took it from him and praised him over and over. What a good boy he was, picking up something that wasn't mine, that I hadn't dropped, something awkward, and with full gear on, handing it to me, rather than picking it up and dropping it again, which is something he sometimes does.

We have progressed in steps, as he's refused to pick something up at all for me, picked things up and dropped them again refusing to pick them up a second time and now he's picked up an item and handed it to me, while out in a public setting. I'm so proud of him!!!

We had walked to an outdoor flea market near home and mingled with people between the tables and displays. He had done okay, but was pretty skittish, not sure about all the people moving so close to me and the chair. Overall he had done well in an exercise meant to socialize him a bit.

As long as we are able to make a little progress, I'm happy. We do have some setbacks from time to time when I'm not so sure we'll ever be able to 'proof' in a public setting, but then he'll make a bit of progress and my confidence is renewed.

Skills Are Locked In

I determined previously that Kodi had become comfortable with learning certain skills in a specific environment and had some trouble translating those skills to new environments. An example being that we learned 'pick it up' in the house, without his vest or lead on and he had trouble performing the same skill outdoors.

Recently he's begun to respond to those same cues outdoors and at times performing those skills without a command. Just the other day he went into the yard and picked up the outdoor spigot cover from the grass and handed it to me.

Kodi has been helping me get ready for bed for many months now, probably a year. When I come into the bedroom at night and approach my side of the bed he gets down on the floor beside me, waiting for me to get undressed. When I sit on the edge of the bed, he takes my socks off and hands them to me, if I kick my shoes off he'll pick them up and hand them to me. He waits for me to get my legs into bed, then comes up and lays down beside me.

He would only get up on the bed, on my side of the bed and would only wait on my side for me.

We changed our furniture around in the bedroom yesterday which put my side of the bed on the other side of the room, near the dresser, creating a narrow pathway for me to navigate. I was concerned as to whether he would be uncomfortable completing his tasks in that small tight space.

He was very helpful while we were moving furniture. He picked the 'moving men' up off the floor and brought them to me, picked up anything that fell while I was going through things and tossing things out. He was such an incredible help throughout the whole process.

Last night he came to my side of the room, sat on the floor and waited for me to get myself ready for bed. He took my socks off and handed them to me, he picked up my sneakers and handed them to me. He waited, as he always does, for me to get into bed and jumped up on my side of the bed, just like always.

He wasn't phased by the change, he was able to complete his skills regardless of the surrounding layout. He wasn't distracted by the tight space. He made the adjustment to the changes. I couldn't have been more proud of him.

He's been listening so well lately that I've been able to take him out on the deck and down the ramp without a lead on. He goes into the yard to potty and comes right back. He responds when I tell him to 'wait', if he has gotten ahead of me. He stops, turns and waits for me to reach him before starting toward the yard. At the end of the ramp he stops and sits, waiting for me to reach him.

What a great feeling to know that we have made so much progress, that some of our skills are locked in. Now I can feel comfortable about adding some new skills to his repertoire.

The Battle to Groom is WON!

Anyone familiar with Huskies knows that they are big 'shedders'! They shed all year round and experience two times a year when they 'blow their coat', Spring and Fall.

They have double coats, a fluffy under coat and a smoother outer coat. Having two coats provides them with insulation against cold climates where they've been bred to work. When they shed, the under coat can come out by the handfuls. It ends up EVERYWHERE!

When Kodi was a little puppy, he seemed to enjoy grooming. He would let me brush him a little every day. He cooperated with the clipping of his toenails, cleaning of his ears, bathing and brushing of his teeth.

While he still enjoys having his teeth brushed (peanut butter flavored tooth paste) and allows his ears to be cleaned, he's not so cooperative about the rest of the process.

As he's gotten older, undergone surgery to have his dew claws removed, been neutered, etc. he's become less comfortable with 'handling', especially around his hind quarters.

When we groom, it's a 'team effort'. My husband sits on the floor with me where he pets and massages Kodi while I brush. It's a long process because everyone is moving and wiggling and not necessarily on the same page.

Tonight, I sat on the floor with Kodi's slicker brush and shedding comb. He came right over to me and sat down between my legs. I hugged him, he leaned into me. I told him I needed him to lie down. He did, without resisting.

I started slowly brushing him, smoothing his fur with my other hand as I brushed. He lay still, allowing me to brush him without the distraction my husband usually provides. When I got to his hip he lifted his head up and looked at me, but I stroked his head and face and spoke to him until he put his head down and sighed heavily.

I finished one side of his body and allowed him to get up and take a break. As a reward for being such a good boy, we played for about ten minutes, tugging and playing catch with a ball. When he came back to me I told him I needed him to face the other direction and guided him with his collar. He turned and sat between my legs. Again, I hugged him and he gave me a kiss. I asked him to lay down and he did so immediately.

I was able to brush his whole other side from head to tail with his full cooperation. I was even able to take the shedding comb over the base of his tail and down its length.

When we were finished, he looked wonderful, though I know his Spring shed, blowing his coat, isn't over yet, in fact, it's just begun. That picture at the top of the blog is from a previous shed and only about a third of what we got off his coat tonight.

He has shown a great deal of maturity lately, being obedient, even in distracting situations. He's overcoming some of his fears and insecurities. We continue to work on obedience as well as assistance skills.

I couldn't be more proud of him!

Service Dog Teams ~ Not All the Same

Perhaps some people don't know that a service dog and the person accompanied by the service dog are a team.

They develop a bond, become in-tune with one another, as a service dog is asked to be constantly aware of the needs of their human companion, they must be able to respond in any environment, regardless of the many distractions around them.

They must be constantly aware of their partner's mobility apparatus, (if they utilize such) whether it be a power chair, manual wheel chair, walker, cane, etc., so they don't get hurt or cause injury to their partner.

A good rule of thumb I share with others is, if you see a vest, bandanna, or any markings on the lead that indicate you're approaching a service dog, don't approach, talk to or attempt to pet the dog.

Every team is different. One person might allow you to pet their dog if you ask, others may prefer no contact. Some may use specific commands when allowing contact, others may not.

Kodiak and I were confronted tonight by a lady holding a baby in her arms. She asked if they could 'visit' the doggy. I smiled and said, "I'm sorry, when he has his vest on he's working." She sort of sighed and said, "We have a neighbor with a service dog and when he wears his vest he gives him the 'go visit' command and lets us pet him."

I found myself explaining that my dog is in training and I don't allow contact. I shouldn't have had to explain anything, my answer should have been sufficient, not challenged.

I'm always glad to encounter people who understand what the vest means, who know to be respectful of the service dog team, but it's always important to remember that service dogs, service dog teams, breeds used as service dogs and disabilities that may require the assistance of a service dog are NOT 'cookie cutter' by any means. There are many variations in skills, commands, and certainly preferences of people with disabilities.

We did well, Kodiak ignored the woman and child, lying down on the ground by my chair as I spoke with her.

"Door" to Progress

We recently started working on "Kodi's Spot", a place just inside the bedroom doorway where Kodiak goes when someone knocks on the door. He's to go there and lay down waiting for permission to come greet the visitor.

He's been doing well with that. Today we had an opportunity to practice it and he did fine, though he left his spot before being given permission. Later in the day, a neighbor was at the screen door where Kodiak could see him, as the inside door was open. I didn't have a chance to take Kodiak to his spot, but I stood just inside the door as I invited our neighbor inside. Kodiak had to stay back, as I didn't allow him to pass and rush the door.

He stood next to me when I gave the command to sit down, which he did. He faced the door as I instructed him to stay. He did so. I didn't need to hold his collar to 'restrain' him, he obeyed verbal and hand commands.

I sat down in the recliner, between Kodiak and the neighbor and Kodiak shifted so he was sitting between my feet. He waited until I allowed him to greet the neighbor, waiting for him to calm down. When he did greet him, he was a good boy, kept his feet on the floor, didn't bark or howl at him, sniffed his hand appropriately and came back to sit with me.

I was impressed by how easily he controlled himself, how well he listened to me. Again, positive reinforcements and patience prevail!

I'm encouraged at what more we can learn and accomplish.

Unexpected Breakthrough

As I shared in previous blogs, Kodiak has been a quick learner when it comes to performing assistance tasks for me inside the home. He picks up dropped items, things I can't reach, brings me my shoes, takes off my shoes and socks, takes the hair tie-back out of my hair, retrieves the phone, remote control, etc. His skills have helped me complete my weekly household chores and vastly reduced the stress I was experiencing doing things that had become challenging.

Kodiak has accompanied me into the local bank and pharmacy. Though he'd had a bit of trouble in the bank, a tight space with many people, he's done remarkably well, considering how much time we've actually been able to dedicate to attending in public.

Kodiak has had trouble translating what we learned indoors to the outdoors. I realized we trained inside, often without his vest, lead, etc. (as we began training before we had those items). He has been easily distracted when outside. He would often respond to 'pick it up' as if he'd never heard the command before, seeming confused.

I've been unable to take my power chair outside since early December, when the first snow and ice collected on the sidewalks and at the curb cuts. There have been few opportunities to practice.

Yesterday, when we went down the ramp to go out and potty, someone's Styrofoam plate had blown from their garbage can and was in our driveway. Kodiak took notice of it and sniffed it. I thought I would give it a shot, so I gave him the command, "pick it up" in a light, encouraging voice.

He tried to pick it up, but it scooted away from him, so he put his foot on it and pinched it, folding it in half, lifting it up and handing it to me. He had his leash on and there were distractions around us, but he did it!! As he handed it to me, I leaned down to praise him and he offered a kiss.

I put him on his airline cable and he ran out into the yard, enjoying the sunshine.

I had taken the advice of a service dog training organization previously, trying to force him to follow the command outside and it was horrible, for both of us. He just seemed so confused. It wasn't until I realized they didn't understand how we had trained prior to that, so though their advice was well-meaning, it was a bit misdirected.

I decided I would continue working with Kodiak by being loving and patient, rather than trying to force something, knowing that he's incredibly intelligent and intuitive, willing to please and was not just being difficult.

Being patient and allowing him to initiate the act, then praising him for doing the task, certainly had a bigger impact than forcing him to submit to me when he clearly didn't understand and was confused.

We've also had another breakthrough recently.

I've tried in the past to take Kodiak out in the yard off leash, as I was able to do with Echo, but he's bolted three times and run into a neighbor's yard. I know that huskies are, by nature, roamers and it is highly recommended that you don't take them out off leash because they can get hurt, particularly if their prey drive is strong and they encounter a cat, small dog, squirrel, etc.

I've taken him out to potty several times recently and allowed him to be off leash. He obeyed me and stayed in his yard, even going to visit Molly at the neighbor's fence and retrieving a thrown toy. When I told him "come" he's come running to and past me, right up the ramp to the deck.

I'm working on showing him that I trust him outdoors, so that he will trust me outdoors, not to ask anything of him that would hurt him or be unsafe. I don't want him to hesitate when we're outside.

We are a work in progress. As long as we are making progress, I'm happy.

I've had people ask me how long he's been training and express that they think we should be further along than we are, but I believe every dog is different and every team is different. I'm satisfied with the progress we're making and as long as Kodiak is comfortable with the methods we're using, that's what matters to me.

The "Rules" Don't Apply to Friends?

Kodi and I have been working really hard on diminishing the 'puppy' behavior we still struggle with, rushing to greet people at the door, putting his feet up on people in an effort to try to kiss them, barking inside the door, etc.

He's been doing wonderfully. We've established 'Kodi's spot', which, when escorted to his spot, he's able to stay there until released to 'greet' company. He learns so quickly, when we are consistent.

My husband's Uncle has been visiting for Sunday dinners every other weekend, which gives us a great opportunity to practice our manners.

I have a friend who comes to visit about once every week or so. She is of the mind that the 'rules' don't apply to her. In fact, she's said as much. She allows/encourages him to put his feet up on her, to kiss her, to hold her down on the sofa and put his face in her cup, his nose near her food, etc. When I correct him, she always says, "It's okay, he knows I don't mind."

We don't allow him to do those things with us, or anyone else. We correct him, even though she's telling him it's okay. She doesn't understand that she's undermining his training and our efforts to have a well mannered dog.

She seems to think that it should be okay depending on the individual person's preference and somehow Kodi should know which people are 'okay' with being mauled by him and which people aren't.

When we encounter her in public, he gets excited. She coaxes him to put his paws up on her chest, to give kisses, etc. When I correct him she says, "You better not, you have your vest on, you're getting in trouble."

It's hard to expect strangers, who may or may not know better, to respect the vest when friends who do know better don't/can't/won't.