Long (really long!) awaited update

Knightley: 1 year 10 months 1 week 6 days old
Apollo: 9 months 4 days old

Apollo and Knightley together recently.

Well, it has been many months since my last update. That is because on December 26th last year I started feeling dizzy, tired, finding it hard to speak and would also pass out occasionally. I was in hospital for over three weeks, but even after then was unable to walk or do much for another couple of months. I couldn't concentrate, or even get out of bed without feeling like I would vomit or pass out.

I am somewhat better now, months later. I still feel dizzy but not as much, and I still pass out. It is quite likely I have developed narcolepsy (uncontrollable sleeping episodes), but there is still some question. I am waiting for testing up at one of the big hospitals in Sydney. I still spend quite a lot of time in bed as I can fall down suddenly, anywhere, unconscious. I am not able to sew or see to my business (although thinking about opening shop again soonish maybe??), and for a long time just stayed in bed. I've been doing physio since I got back from the hospital and can now walk reasonably well - but I still pass out and bruise myself... sometimes daily, twice a day, or only several times in a week. I wear a helmet for protection after I concussed myself when my head hit the floor. So things have been pretty terrible in that sense. In all the testing it was found out I have 'mixed' sleep apnoea, and now use a CPAP machine which has helped my terrible fatigue and has somewhat lessened my sleep episodes. However, all this passing out business is on top of my immune issues and migraines. SIGH!

Apollo learning to do an assistance retrieve for me. He's holding
a comb in this photo. He's taken to retrieving well.

So, due to all this, Apollo had to go through nearly a month with me away in hospital, and didn't deal with it well - he became pretty destructive and bored. Two months or so ago I got a mobility scooter which finally gave me the ability to get out of the house safely and take the boys for walks again. Since then I have been able to up Apollo's socialisation dramatically and he is doing well. We spend a little time inside our local shopping plaza, but spend most of the time outside it - still learning the basics of ignoring people, ignoring dogs, loud noises and strange objects. We do some basic obedience too, but mostly I'm concentrating on the basic socialisation at the moment as he missed out on a lot of it for months. I did swap him to a new vest today from a small one I've been using since he was quite young. He looks quite official in his new gear - which I had made many months ago before I got this passing out problem.

Apollo at the shops in his new gear. He is still smaller than
Knightley by quite a bit, but I hope he will be a large dog
too.

My happy Knightley with Apollo in the background. I spend
quite a bit of time with them on my bed looking after me.

Knightley is unfortunately going downhill quite quickly due to his hips. The vet hoped we'd have a couple of years of good function left, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I recently got some 'Neo Paws' boots for him to help his hips, and they do seem to help quite a bit. We love Knightley so much, and he and Apollo are the very best of friends. I think Apollo helps keep Knightley feeling young. I take Knightley out to 'work' occasionally just on a trip to the shops because he LOVES it and just gently wags at everyone. It breaks my heart that his hip dysplasia was so bad that he can't do what I trained him for. Even just a trip to the shops leaves him close to limping.

Apollo has turned out to be a natural alerter - he lets me know when I'm about to pass out. I have from between 20 seconds and two minutes warning. Enough time to find somewhere safe to sit or lie, or pull the scooter over to somewhere safe where I can pass out in peace! It is a massive blessing that he can do this, although we definitely need to work on his response to me being passed out. I want him to try to lick my face to help wake me up, and he'll do that if I'm on the floor.... but if we're in public or I'm in my wheelchair at home, he doesn't get that he has to stand on his hind legs and lick my face. But nevermind, he's only 9 months old so there is plenty more training to go.

So, things are going better than they were. Poor hubby is my carer these days, as well as the boys, and it stresses him out. But the boys are pretty great most of the time. They make me laugh (especially my clown, Apollo) and snuggle up to me when I need it. I want to get Apollo to professional standard as fast as I can since he's proven to be quite a reliable alerter. Having him with me is massive reassurance, as well as when you drop things from wheelchairs and mobility scooters it's handy to have someone/something else to pick up those things for you. We've done a bit of door closing training, and I really want to train Apollo to push those big metal buttons for me so I can cross the road. So there is a lot of work to be done. Thankfully he is super food motivated!

Truly though, all three of my boys are absolutely wonderful to me, and whilst so far this year hasn't been anything to boast about, they help me through everything day by day and never fail to make me smile. :)

Will try to write an entry now and again, but I find text hard to read (and type) due to dizziness and double vision. I hope everyone in the blogosphere has been well and is looking after themselves. *hugs to all*

Massive news: a very very very important appointment, a Birthday, the Come Game, new gear

Well, the last few days Knightley has just been absolutely CRAZY with energy, especially in the evenings. The type of energy where he jumps on and off the couch 30 times and there is no reduction in his eagerness to GO! Hubby and I had a great session of the "Come Game" with him, and he was the most enthusiastic he has ever been about it (skidding around corners, bashing into furniture.... he was running for the reward of chopped up beef heart, his favourite, but still!).

For those who don't know it, the Come Game is a fun technique from Sue Ailsby's Training Levels (following the so called tab in the title bar to find out more about her Training Levels) to teach your dog to come. You really need to have an assistant with you, and both have clickers (or you can say 'yes!' in a happy tone, but clickers are always more accurate and more helpful to the dog). The main trainer or person most likely to elicit a successful recall starts the game by making some noises (NOT using a 'come' cue).... and as the dog turns and comes towards them, that person clicks/yesses, and as soon as the dog gets to them, they give the dog their treat. Instantly that person loses all interest in the dog, looks into the distance and becomes really boring and the other person starts making recall type noises (pup pup pup!!! or something). As soon as the pup turns and starts coming towards them, they click/yes and treat the dog upon their arrival, maybe a few happy pats, then completely boring.... then the other calls again.

Once the dog knows how the Come Game works you can use it to introduce, or work on your come cue. As your dog swings around to start running towards you, say your cue, click (assuming your dog keeps running!) and lots of praise and treats when it arrives - then ignore and continue like usual. Use really fantastic treats and pick a time your dog is full of energy. It actually tired Knightley out better than a walk would have!

Having said that though, after an hour or two he is back to his normal self. He has also rather suddenly decided that he is a lap dog. When he's particularly full of beans, he thinks bounding like a kangaroo from the floor onto my lap while I'm sitting on the couch is a good idea. Keep in the mind this is the dog who would have us think that 95% of the time he can't get into the back of our stationwagon. Uh huh dog. I actually like how he developed this thing for lying over laps, even though only a fifth or so of him fits on.... maybe a sixth, I'm not sure. I rather like the pressure (as long as it isn't a sudden 33kg (73lbs) kangaroo hop) and the warmth is lovely for my ever sore legs.

On a rather different topic, today is my lovely hubby's birthday! Last night I actually put some effort into our evening meal and cooked a roast beef as tonight we will go out for our meal... so he got a home cooked birthday meal out of me too. He was out at a movie with his work friends for a couple of hours, so when he got back I had the roast all ready to go - well rested too! My chef friend would have been proud. It was really really nice if I say so myself, very pink and very very juicy! I used quite a few spices on it, and Knightley even got a taste after we had finished and he definitely approved!!! We have plenty left over so I will be able to use it for super high value treats for Knightley as well as for sandwiches etc. Anyway, happy birthday to my ever cheerful hubby who is so good to me, especially when I am particularly sick. Any birthday comments on here will be passed on lol.

Design #5 in all its glory. This a prototype with a black 1000 Denier
Cordura lining, and a rip proof showerproof polyester top.

Knightley got to play dog model again last night. I'd been having some trouble with the quality of my thread, so went out and bought new thread. I need to find some good thread suppliers online as I can't afford shop prices for heavy duty upholstery thread. Anyway, my next assistance dog design is finished, but I think I will change it a bit. I intentionally made it a little smaller, so hopefully will get another dog to model it (maybe at the dog park?). It's what I'd call a medium, and Knightley *just* squeezes into it.

A very comfortable dog - comfort for the dog is my greatest
concern!

This one is design #5, a basic band to sew patches to, with no D rings or handles or anything. It can come with two layers or Cordura, or one layer Cordura and one of ripproof shower proof polyester. The polyester version is a nice light band which can get wet and will dry easily. The Cordura version is just your normal heavy vest material and once wet will take a while to dry. Both are strong. I made this one with contrasting white stitching, which could be requested if anyone took a fancy to it.

Oops, I cut off his nose! Thankfully Knightley is good at
standing and waiting/staying. I'm planning to shorten the vest
a little but everything else will be more or less the same!

Like with my Design #1 you can see the dog has a good range of motion and it is very comfortable - this is despite it being a little too small! Once again, like Design #1 it has quick release buckles on the girth, but whilst being adjustable on the chest, it doesn't have a quick release buckle. You just slip it over your dog's head then do up the girth and away you go!

My final bit of news is I had a very very important medical appointment today. Hubby took the day off, partly to go with me, partly because it is his birthday anyway! I hadn't mentioned it on here before because I wanted to keep it under wraps until this appointment was over, but for the last three weeks or so I've started dieting to try to lose weight. I've already lost 5kg (11lbs). I always battle with my weight, but even more so now with the complete lack of aerobic activity I do, and all the medicines I am now on that have weight gain as a major side effect. But now I have a very serious reason to try to loose a reasonable amount of weight.

This is because today I saw an obstetrician. About seven weeks ago my GP talked to me about the slowly fading possibility of me having children. I have always wanted kids, but she said my body is going to be less able as time goes on so if I wanted the I really must grab the time soon to try. Hubby and I had always planned on waiting a few more years until trying but my lovely GP said that definitely wasn't a good idea. So she got me an appointment with high risk pregnancy specialists, and today we went. I have been reading about lupus/auto-inflammatory diseases and pregnancy, plus the many other things that I have problems with.... and it had certainly been scaring me a bit. I had been hoping for an appointment today that would be at least mildly reassuring but instead the obstetrician came very close to telling us not to try, but said he couldn't tell us it was impossible because nothing is ever impossible. I am certainly going to find it very hard to get pregnant, and just as hard to stay pregnant.... not to mention the sheer pain of it all. Then handling having a young baby will be extremely difficult, but at least that can be managed. The pregnancy bit is all down to my body. About half of my medications would need to change, it even means having injections every day - ugh.

So that's my rather massive news. I go back to the hospital in September to see how I am going with my weight loss and general health, and we will be planning the pregnancy further. We have to wait for when my body feels fairly well before trying for a bub, but we hope for sometime early in the new year. I'll be seeing  my immunologist next month so will be getting his take on all of this then.

This blog might become a bit about weight loss with mobility problems and possibly even a high-risk pregnancy if I am very very lucky. I hope none of you mind, these battles to be 'normal' is what living with a disability is all about - especially as a younger person, and it very much links into my posts about training Knightley. So wish us luck, we're going to need it.

Fantastic public access training and teaching the family to walk Knightley!

10 months 1 week 6 days old

Today I needed some prescriptions filled, and the shops are not at all far away and Knightley needed some public access work so off we went together. He behaved like a dream!! I can't actually believe what a good boy he was. First I went to drop my scripts off (I had like 7 to get filled, yes I take a *lot* of medication), then I had about 15 minutes to use up while we were waiting. So we went into the supermarket to do some training. He was such a good boy. I had his halter on really loosely (the Infin8 is very different to other halters, it acts more like a mix of a collar and halter and as you slowly loosen it, it becomes even more like a collar), but he didn't try to pull at all and heeled very nicely. There was a bunch of onion peel on the floor in one place and I saw him eyeing it but told him to 'leave it' and he instantly ignored it. What a good puppy! There was very little sniffing, and he ignored the people completely! Wowsers. Despite the fact I am doing very little public access work (I decided that once a week is enough until he reaches a year of age when I will start taking it more seriously) he is still learning from each trip we do together.

Looking a bit lonely in a stay, doing some training
in the supermarket. Maybe he's worried I'm about
to leave him?? I don't know. Each time I put him in
a stay he seemed to get a little mournful. Maybe I
need to work on me leaving him as a wonderful
 thing - rather than me coming back to him.

I did some basic obedience practice inside the supermarket. We were there at a time that wasn't too busy, so the aisles were relatively empty. We did basic sits, wait then recall from the end of the leash, stay with me walking around him in a circle, and then stay with me dropping the leash and walking a few metres away. All perfect. Then I went out of the supermarket and into what is still an inside area but was not very populated, and we worked on down stays where I stepped over him, and worked on stepping near his head and tail without him shifting. All once again perfect! GOOD BOY! I was so happy with him. We left it there and went into the chemist to wait for my prescriptions, where I let him 'visit' with one of the assistants there. He was very grave and gentle and stayed sitting - yay! One of the problems I have is with him flopping down on his back for a tummy rub from a sit or down when I allow visits. He got lots of praise and a treat for staying in a sit. Then into a down stay under my feet while I sat and waited for my meds.

After everything was done I took the handle of his vest, and he walked nice and slow and loose home. I am training him that only if I put pressure on the handle is he to lean into the vest. Otherwise he isn't to pull. Even without him pulling it still helps with my balance overall.... it just makes me feel safer. I am just so much more confident with Knightley - and he is only beginning to work for his living!

Anyway, soon after we got home Knightley and I were off to my parents place for an afternoon with my parents and brother. Knightley had a great time exploring their big backyard, getting into all sorts of trouble. He decided that tearing up weed mat is a LOT of fun and kept on returning to do it again and again throughout the evening whenever he went outside. I think we encouraged him a bit because the first time he did it was so funny - I think in his doggy mind he was trying to help as my mum was trying to pick up bits of weed mat. My parents will be looking after Knightley for one night in July and two in August as we have a wedding to go to in Sydney in July, then we are going to a company weekend for my hubby's work in August up at the snow. We went last year just before we brought Knightley home (have a look at this old post from last year if you are interested in seeing snow in Australia! Yes, it does exist!) and it was a good weekend. Maybe next year we'll take Knightley when he has his permit. It is becoming more and more likely in my eyes that Knightley will indeed become a fully functioning assistance dog. Unless there is a big personality change we are on track.

Anyway.... back to what I was talking about.....! So, as my parents will be looking after Knightley, today we all took him for a short walk, and I had his Easy Walk harness on him to make it relatively easy for them. They all had a go, including my brother, and it went pretty well really. I showed them how to walk backwards if Knightley pulled to get him back into a rough heel position so that he will learn he can't get away with pulling with them. It helped that Knightley was pretty tired already from our trip to the shops and doing training there, and then romping around their garden. They may not find it quite so easy first thing on a morning! I also went through quite a few of Knightley's basic cues with them, although I think providing them with a 'cheat sheet' is a good idea. When we got back Knightley eventually flopped down and slept. I am pretty sure that he will have a good time with my parents and will get quite spoilt. They are quite fond of him, and as long as they keep up the exercise I am sure he won't cause too much bother. A tired dog is a good dog! My mum is also keen to do all the raw feeding stuff while she has him under her roof, so that's good. I believe she is also quite keen to get the food too, although I did offer to bring over weighed, bagged food to make it easier. We shall have to go on a shopping trip and get enough for the three nights he will end up spending under their roof.

I need to have a raw food shopping trip myself actually. I've nearly emptied our freezer of food for Knightley except for a few bags of bits of turkey. I have no red meat left and no organs. So it's definitely time to do some shopping! Maybe a bunch of beef heart, and some ox tongues would be great. Lamb necks are really cheap too, give him great healthy red meat and take him ages to eat so they tire him out! This is an vital consideration because Knightley has sooo much more energy than he used to! I used to wonder if Knightley would ever actually have the stamina to be an assistance dog, but I guess it was just puppy energy.... puppies are always going 100% to 0%. Speaking of not being a puppy anymore, the leg continues to raise, but only very occasionally and only against trees!

My final bit of news is I've set up my new sewing machine and have started playing with it. I have also ordered my fabric to make my prototypes, and bought a few more bits and pieces at a sewing store last week. Once the fabric, webbing and clips/D rings/O rings/etc arrive I'll be good to start on my first vest. It will be a mobility harness/vest, as Knightley needs a new one, so that will be my first priority. The sewing machine is extremely easy to use and I'm very happy with my purchase.

So today was a really good day. Knightley is coming along so well and I am bursting with pride!

The leg has risen! And many decisions to make

10 months 1 week 3 days old


Well!!! After some twitches, and then peeing closer and closer to trees until he was almost trying to be absorbed into them... Knightley has finally lifted his leg! It was very matter of fact, no wobbling around as I have heard other dogs do on their 'first time', and he wasn't even proud of himself! Well, I'll be proud of him for him. Some people de-sex their male dogs when they first lift their leg to pee, as it usually happens somewhere between 8-12 months and shows something I guess as relates to sexual maturity. I think it's a bit odd though. Much better to de-sex when the growth plates have fused at around 18 months, leaving the joints properly formed and reducing risks of hip dysplasia. It also reduces the risk of many cancers that Golden Retrievers are prone to.

Anyway, Knightley got *SO* mucky on our morning walk yesterday, rolling in wet muddy grass and splashing around in a rather full storm drain that I decided I couldn't wait to take him to the pet store's self service dog bath, and that he needed to be washed NOW! He wasn't thrilled with the prospect but he put up with it. I've trained him to like baths more than he may have by stuffing him with chicken whenever water and shampoo come out. He is definitely better than my previous dog Clipsy was in the bath!! I so love positive reinforcement. Knightley is even softer now, if that's possible. I love resting my face against his coat and feeling him breathe, and now he smells so nice too! Having said that though, he never gets that doggy smell anymore, not since I started feeding raw. Anyway, I was completely and absolutely exhausted from bathing a rather wilful 10 month old 32kg (71 lbs) bag of muscle and fur... but the results are worth it. Now I am reluctant to take him anywhere he is likely to get filthy! I'll try to get a nice photo of him in the sun tomorrow and add it to this post.

The good news is today arrived a very generous bunch of fabric samples from the place I shall be ordering my fabric from to make the assistance dog vests/capes/bands etc. The company has been great to deal with so far, and they are even giving me a 10% discount as I described my situation and asked if a discount was at all possible - not really expecting one. So that was nice of them! Anyway, I was just planning to make everything out of Cordura, which is the standard for the heavier vests etc, but they sent so many samples in a huge folder and it has raised more possibilities. So today I spent a good couple of hours going over my designs and have come up with some really good options - but there are still so many decisions to make!

So far I am planning:

• a fairly heavy duty mobility vest/harness with a Y chest and plastic handle, which is what I will work on first as I want to make one for Knightley
• another one similar to the mobility vest/harness with Y chest and plastic handle, but it will be with lighter fabric and with partial mesh - for summer
• a simple belly band, which will be extremely comfortable and can be made in really any size
• a more substantial style belly band with a handle on top (looking at sourcing plastic handles)
• a fairly heavy double layer cape with or without zippered pockets
• a lighter cape made of light waterproof materials, half mesh - for summer
• errrr and one more that I can't remember off the top of my head and I am not getting out of bed at this time of night to check my plans, so I'll edit this later to add it!

I'm also planning a basic guide dog harness, and I'd like to try to make a Y shape chest version if possible.

If anyone has any suggestions to make things other stores don't carry, please do let me know! I'm going to order in some other bits and pieces that I have found useful myself, like flashing lights to attach to collars, handy gear for on the go like water feeder bottles, snap open treat pouches, clip on saddle packs (which I would likely make) and more. I'll be starting slow and just seeing how things go at first. I made up some patterns today, just out of newspaper... but it's a start. I'll be ordering fabric to make my prototypes tomorrow. Also, after not being quite sure whether to or not, I have decided to go ahead and register myself as a sole trader business. It was going to be problematic using PayPal if I didn't, so it will be much easier this way. I was planning on starting very much as a hobby, but I guess I may as well treat it a bit more seriously from the get go. Who knows where this could lead. Probably selling the sewing machine on as second hand in six months time! grin.

We had a good training session this evening, with Knightley nicely enthusiastic. He really is a very good dog when he's 'in the game' and wants to train. We did lots of 'flat', cupboard closing, hand targeting, sit from flat etc. All great. Then we went outside before I went to bed but he was quite hyped up and he pulled like a steamtrain.... sigh. He has interesting equipment association - he is pretty good in his various harnesses, really good in his vest, but with a simple leash attached to his day to day collar it's like a signal from on high to pull mummy's arm out of it's socket. Of course I refuse to be pulled and walk backwards and all those good things, but he's just so full of energy these days he isn't really able to think! I wonder where the flirt pole has got to... that's what we need I think...... He actually did stop pulling once we reached the grass as it's rather cold here tonight, -5 C (23 F), and he stopped to work out why his feet were crunching and so cold! It's going to be a very heavy frost. I wish we'd have some snow, I'd love to see what Knightley would make of it but snow in Canberra is rarer than it used to be. I am going to actually have a trip up to the ski fields again this year in a couple of months time (only a couple of hours away) but Knightley is going to stay with my parents. He'd be allowed to come if he was qualified, even though it's in a protected National Park.... but he's still a long way from his permit.

Speaking of Canberra, I've added a few Qs to the FAQs page, specifically one talking about Canberra which is a rather interesting city - originally designed by an American! I've also updated some of the other pages too, so have a read especially if you haven't done so before. I'm so very tired at the moment I'm not able to do much other than fiddle on the computer - oh, and sleep which I am doing very well during the day at the moment but not so well at night! LOL! Bodies.... crazy things!

Take care of yourself internetland.

Assistance dog equipment plans progressing, and some car training

10 months 1 week 1 day old

Well, if you're a regular reader of mine, you'll know that I've been considering starting a bit of a hobby/small business making assistance dog equipment. There is literally no one in Australia making that type of stuff, everything has to be imported from overseas. I often get search queries from inside Australia looking for vests and harnesses, so there is obviously a niche to be filled. I've looked into costs and done quite a few sums trying to figure out profits on individual items, and it looks reasonable. It is also something I can do from home without having to exhaust myself.

My new sewing machine! For heavy duty sewing with leather,
thick nylons, upholstery fabrics and the like. Well up to the task
yet not ridiculously big. I'm itching to start!

So, I've gone ahead and bought a heavy duty sewing machine, which arrived yesterday. My sewing skills are a little rudimentary, enough to sew basic clothes, but certainly enough to sew doggy equipment. I'll be glad to improve my skills anyway, which I am sure they will rapidly! Today I've made a rather large order of webbing and lots of clips, D rings, O rings and lots more. I've also asked for a quote for some black, red and blue Nylon Cordura 1000 denier, which is what the good vests and capes are made out of. I've also asked for some samples of some lighter polyesters. I've done some sketches of possible designs and have come up with five basic designs, from a very simple loose belly band that you can put patches on, to a quite substantial extra padded Y shaped chest mobility vest-harness. I'd really like to make one of the latter ones for Knightley, so I might start refining the design of that one first. I'll then make up some prototypes and then run them by my vet for his opinion. I'm not making anything wildly different from anything out there, so I can't imagine their would be anything problematic physically about the designs, but you can't be too sure can you?

I'll also be making basic collars and leashes, including the 'euro' type leash which is so useful for assistance/service dog handlers. I'm considering a no pull harness as well, we'll see. But there is a lot of practice to do first, including getting used to my lovely brand new sewing machine. If things went well I would look into buying a second hand embroidering machine, just a domestic one, so I could make my own patches. In the meantime I'll buy in ones from where I usually get my own patches. Hopefully they'll do me a bulk deal. Edit: if you'd like to know the exact details of what I'm planning to make, take a look at my next entry!

So, it's exciting times. But onto other topics.

I've decided to take Knightley to the vet sometime soon and get his hips checked out to assuage my worries. Before I go though I will get pet insurance for Knightley. I was intending to wait until Knightley was a year old and we started his more advanced training in earnest, but his hips have really been making me nervous, so I think I might take out the insurance early just in case something is wrong. His hips seriously sway when he walks, and it *looks* like his right hip sort of clicks when he walks. It gets to a point in his stride where it moves very suddenly, kind of like a click although I haven't been able to hear anything. I have also noticed that he has mostly stopped lying on his side and always does a 'sphinx' down. While the sphinx down is the proper down, I do wonder about the reason for the change.... could it be a sore hip??

I've been extremely tired and sore today and haven't been up to much but sitting on the couch, and I think Knightley realises it somehow. He has this amazingly serious expression on his face, as if he is carrying the entire weight of the world on his furry shoulders at this very moment. We definitely have cultivated a very close bond.... I just really really wish he would alert to my migraines, specifically the ones that come out of nowhere. I've been doing some web searches on training migraine alerts if it isn't innate (some dogs just do it naturally) but haven't come up with much. Awww, he just crawled onto my lap.... well, as much of him as will fit. His head and one of his legs crawled onto my lap. The other leg is trying to but keeps falling off lol. What a darling he is.

I'm doing bits and pieces of training - what I would call incidental training - despite feeling pretty run down at the moment. For instance the new car is a stationwagon (does the whole world call it a stationwagon, I don't know?? oh well), so now Knightley can go in what is really the boot (wagon?) and have so much more room. I had his car protocol trained pretty well before, he'd get in (extremely clumsily like the ungainly teenager he is), be clipped into the seatbelt and lie down and relax nicely. When we got to the place, I'd open the door, unclip him and tell him to wait until I told him to jump off. At the moment he isn't fastened into the wagon part, and even needs help to get up there. So I'm working on his jumping (just low jumps of course as he is young). Jumping is included in Sue Ailsby's Training Levels, which is what I've used to train Knightley's basics. He's actually quite good at jumping over things, but isn't much happy at jumping up onto things. We'll continue practicing because even lifting half of him is semi heavy and I certainly don't want to have to reach down to his paw level.

The other bit of training of note I've done as relates to the car was done very much on a sudden whim - I didn't have any treats with me, so instead of using pure positive reinforcement, which is what I rather, I had to use negative punishment (taking away a good thing). Since Knightley isn't clipped in at the moment, as soon as the wagon door comes up, he tries to jump out. I would much rather a controlled exit, in fact it is generally required in some of the PATs (public access tests) out there. There are a few things I should learn from this, as I found he wouldn't actually 'stay' in this situation. Dogs are very poor generalisers and you need to practice cues in as many different situations as possible, because of exactly this reason. Obviously being given the cue through glass was something Knightley thought meant it didn't count! So I need to work on his stay more in situations like that. However, I wanted to be able to fix it right there and then, so I improvised. I asked for a sit, which he would do through the glass (that cue has been used in so many more places than stay), and started very slowly opening the wagon door upwards. As soon as he broke the sit, I closed it. I asked for a sit again, gave lots of verbal praise, then started opening again. Every time I did it I was able to open the door a little further until eventually Knightley realised unless he remained sitting the door wasn't opening and he wasn't going anywhere. Finally the door was fully open and he remained sitting. Obviously it will need more practice, and next time I will use treats as well, but the technique worked nicely - especially as I actually couldn't have got him treats easily in that situation. I will be making a special seatbelt for Knightley myself when I get some of my supplies.

I'm excited to get started sewing, so I'll likely start making something else on the sewing machine while I wait for all my supplies to arrive. Anyone in Australia want a custom leash or two while I work out my sewing machine? The webbing is going to take at least a week to get here mind you.

Anyway, hope this entry wasn't too boring! The weather is just horrible here today but I'm all warm tucked up on the couch with a huge furry lump on my lap listening to the rain and wind outside. Life could be a lot worse.

P.S. I'm also going to try my hand at making a simple guide dog harness, but I will absolutely need a volunteer guide team in Canberra to try it out. If anyone knows one, please get in contact with me. It likely wouldn't be for a couple of months yet, but I may as well start to put my feelers out now.

Wonderful public training, retrieving awkward objects, hubby back!

8 months 1 week 4 days old

Firstly, for those who missed it, I have a brand new Facebook page, at https://www.facebook.com/DownunderAssistanceDog. Do go ahead and join the page to get my updates about what Knightley and I are up to on a day to day basis, especially when I don't have the energy for a big post here. Also, if you ever want to contact me for any reason, it's a great way to do it.

I'm trying out a new 'thing' on my blog... bolding important phrases and words, so that you can scan an entry and see what is important, what has happened, and get the training messages quickly. Gimme a yell if you hate it!

The last couple of days have been pretty full on for both me and Knightley! Hubby came home from his 3.5 week trip to England on Easter Friday, and Knightley went to the airport with us having got permission to take him inside. It was his first time to the airport, and was his first time for several other things. He'd never been on a lift before (that went REALLY well! My dad and I repeatedly told him what a wonderful dog he was while we were in there), he'd never been on super polished floors and he was great with those, he'd certainly never seen moving baggage and that gave him pause.... but he was fascinated, not scared! I think he wanted to jump onto the baggage carousel too. He'd never heard loud announcements, and his head whipped around at first when the first one came over the PA system, looking for the source of the sound. Which obviously he couldn't find..... With strange noises and dogs, it is best to just act as if the noise is completely normal and then your dog will accept it as normal too. If you go "oh poor dog, I know, you just got a big fright, are you ok??", then your dog is likely to start getting an issue. Just act as if the noise is normal and your dog will believe it is. Once Knightley saw that I believed the announcements were no threat, he started more or less ignoring them. My husbands plane was late, but Knightley was pretty good (not ideal, shifted around a bit too much) and just rested in a down by my feet. All the work with down stays and relax has been worth it! Once again I felt like a bit of a tourist attraction, with soooo many people looking at Knightley. I can see that when Knightley is fully trained and with me all the time I will get a lot of attention from him. He gets a lot of comments about how beautiful he is, and I would have to agree. :)

Knightley was very happy to see hubby, but wasn't completely unprofessional in his welcome. We did have a bit of a slip up.... everyone was clustered around getting their bags and hubby got his smaller one and threw it towards us. It landed with quite a bang and obviously shocked Knightley quite a bit.... to the point he let out a small rather surprised bark! I was amazed... he hasn't barked before in public like that. So I told him to 'leave it!', and immediately turned around and we walked away from everyone. So that blotted his perfect record. As we were leaving I stopped at the only patch of grass outside and gave him his pee cue, and it worked immediately. What a good dog! A family was right beside the grass and saw me with Knightley, and was completely amazed. "Oh wow.... how did you do that....??! I wish my dog did that!" the mother said. I just responded that it was part of his training and was indeed very useful.

Learning to pick up my sunnies (sunglasses) where I want him to.
 I don't want him to pick them up on the lenses and leave slobber
so I am spending some time teaching him where I want him to put
his mouth. He seems happy enough to play along! When I
compare his behaviour to how he first was when I started retrieve
training there is a *huge* difference. There is almost no comparison.
He's such a good good boy.

That night after hubby came home he went to bed rather early, so we did a bunch of retrieve training with some semi delicate objects. We practiced getting Knightley to pick things up in certain places on the object. For instance, I don't want him to pick my sunnies (sunglasses) up by their lenses.... for while they are not expensive sunnies, I don't want to be seeing through drool when I come to pick them up! So I want him to learn to pick them up on the long arm thingo. So I got him to hold them first maybe 6-7 times, in the place I wanted him to pick them up. Then I started lowering them towards the floor. I would very deliberately offer the part I wanted him to hold, so that he never took the wrong part.

Retrieving a lid, which he has got a lot better at. He struggled
with anything flat at first, but now he seems to be able to
manage most of the time. He will hold it for a good long time
until I am ready to take it, and will hold it with me until I tell him
'thank you!' and then finally, he will let go. It really does come
quite naturally to him. We are slowly starting to very occasionally
do a retrieve without a treat reward, although I will do something
else instead, usually play with a toy or just make a huge fuss of
him.

However, if he did (he has on other objects), I would just wait it out until he released the object and not reward him for it, then give the retrieve cue again ('get it!') with my hand over everything but where I want him to hold. I'd do a couple of short holds, not even letting go, offering the object, then 'thank you!' and he releases, then treating him. I would slowly reduce what my hand covers until he is still holding the right place despite being offered the whole object. Then I'd start letting him get some good long holds by himself, then start  lowering the object towards the floor again before each hold until it was on the floor but I had one hand on it. If at any time he wouldn't reach and hold it on cue, then I would go backwards a step or two and make it easier for him. This is one of the keys of dog training!! Don't be afraid to go back a couple of steps when things aren't going quite right.... or even right back to basics!

Then I put the sunnies on a flat surface at his chest height, all folded up except for one arm open, and asked him to get them. He did, then swung around and gave them to me. Very nice. We did that several times, and then I slowly opened out the sunnies, only paying for retrieves where he picked it up via the arm. Then I put it on another flat surface, close to the floor, with the arms open, and we did a couple more retrieves... and then the floor. Next time I will work on having him things up that I drop before the session... which is our problem at the moment. He will pick things up after I nudge them a bit with my toe to show him what I want picking up... but it takes a little while, and a fair bit of encouragement.

The last several days I've been at the National Folk Festival, with stacks of venues with all sorts of amazing performers from all over the world, awesome food, all sorts of stalls selling clothes, jewelry and all sorts, and lots of lovely food. There's one more day to go and then it's time to recover! I've spent most of my time in my wheelchair getting pushed this year, as my health took a little dip pre-Festival (see post about coming back from shops with Knightley). However, I got permission to take Knightley for public access training and socialisation, so he's gone with me for a couple of hours on one day and a few on another, and while I've had Knightley with me I've walked with my crutch slowly. He has been a VERY good boy!! He has experienced lots more firsts, like at the airport, such as applause, live music, walking beside me in a wheelchair (wasn't for long), lying still for events (needs practice) and having a grass floored venue that must be treated as a normal floor (if you're a regular reader you know that Knightley is a massive grass fan!! It was hard....).

What a fantastic learning experience it has been. I have really seen what Knightley and I need to work on in the coming months. Lots of zen, zen, zen, zen, until it is default and matter of fact. There was quite a bit of food on the ground, and Knightley was good at the beginning of the Festival, but then once or twice ate something from the ground... which is a *huge* no no (there was so much though!). That rather spelt doom. He obeyed me if I told me to 'leave it'... but there was so much stuff on the ground that I couldn't keep saying it continuously, and unfortunately it being the beginning of autumn here, there were leaves on the ground too which *looked* like food, so he wanted to check out every little leaf too. So default food on ground zen is something we need to work on badly. If he hadn't got himself that one or two pieces of food originally then I think we would have been ok, but after that every leaf was a potential snack, sigh. Anyway, lots of work to do!

I can't decide whether to take him back for the last day or not. Every day is another learning experience, and he isn't getting too tired because he is dozing a bit during some of the performances - especially the ones in the dark venues. Also, the last day is a lot quieter than the others. However, I don't want to burn him out as these are some big experiences for a young dog. Either way he is going to have a good long break from any public socialisation and training. Lots of walks and dog park visits for the foreseeable future I think.

A trip to the dog park, a little training, slowly getting better

5 months 3 weeks 6 days old

Well I'm still not well, but I am feeling a little better I think. I think I have been pushing myself a bit overall, and last Thursday/Friday was just the final straw, trying to balance everything. The pile has finally come falling down. Unfortunately the timing is pretty bad! I have very definite commitments at the Arts Centre I volunteer at this week, and they aren't something that can be put off. Nevermind, I will just try to minimise the hours and rest as much as I can.

The hubby and I did manage to take Mr Knightley to the dog park again for some fun and exercise, since he isn't getting his normal walks at the moment. He had a really great time, solid socialisation with both people and dogs, and is starting to develop some manners around adult dogs - one of the main reasons we are taking him there. He's learning that if he bugs and bugs adult dogs to play, they may just turn around and tell him off. Twice when we've been there now there has been a guy with two muzzled rottweilers, and the first time he bothered one of them a bit, it started to lash out at Knightley. I was certainly glad it was muzzled, although it did back off quickly. The next time he visited he stayed clear though - there was no bothering. He still needs to learn to be nice to the little dogs as well as the big dogs, although he seems to have stopped both running and jumping over the little dogs! There were two huge mastiffs, as well as an alaskan malamute this last time, and he was extreeemely polite to them, it was quite amusing to watch.

I do have to bite my tongue at the dog park though. There are people there who in my opinion are doing absolutely the WRONG thing to manage behavioural problems with their dogs..... but who am I to offer advice? Especially as from what they can see I am just the normal pet owner. I have felt like asking "and is that technique visibly improving matters?" several times though. Must control myself, although if I see those two terrified Italian Greyhounds being made to come to the park once again it will be very hard........ their owner has obviously received advice from these trainers/dog walkers who come to the park that repeated visits will cure them of their issues.... but IMO it will make them worse. Wish I could say something.... I know exactly what I would do to help the poor creatures (one of which tried to bite Knightley it was so terrified of him) but it isn't right to butt in if actual dog 'professionals' are helping her.

Knightley today on his new bed doing 'on your mat!' training.
He's such a good boy these days with his training, so quick
and willing to please. I am very proud of him!

I have officially crossed off two behaviours on my Sue Ailsby's Training Levels Level 2 'to do' list and we're working on a third. The first is a behaviour where you have a jump and a mat next to each other and using cues you ask for your dog to either jump over the jump or lay on the mat and actually get the one you asked for consistently - testing cue recognition. Knightley had no problems with that, and we have been continuing to work on getting him used to other mats, even things like cotton shopping bags.

The second behaviour to tick off is recall. For a while I have been taking Knightley out the front to do his business, which I started doing to lower his excitement levels every time he went outside the house. It has worked extremely well - going outside is now matter of fact for him and I think it has helped our loose leash training, and also helped him take treats outside. At first he wouldn't eat food outside at all because he was completely over threshold, but now he is happy to eat his dry kibble, partly thanks to taking him out so often. However, I've been feeling rotten the last couple of days obviously, so have just been letting him out the back, giving him his cue to go as he goes past me, which works well. I give him a couple of minutes, then call him back in. His response to the call in is pretty impressive, considering he can be as much as 40 metres away, out of sight around the other side of the house. Sometimes I have to call a couple of times, but he certainly does come. So considering Level 2 only asks for a 12m (40 feet) recall we are definitely able to tick that one off. We've also been doing some hide and seek at a distance of about 20m (66 feet), and he's been loving that... and the hide and seek was also on the Levels too. So recall is done too!

We did some work on the 6m (20 feet) down stay, which is further than I have been usually doing down stays, but I am taking it up slowly to the desired 1 minute. At the moment we are at 20 seconds, which isn't bad. He didn't once break his stay today, so that is great. I want him to think that stay is never to be broken. If your dog is breaking stays often then you are doing stays that are either too long, with too many distractions, or too far from you. Take it slowly, and whenever you make something harder, re-teach the whole behaviour. We haven't done much stay work outside, so when we finally do go outside I will be starting from 1 second standing right next to him - without a cue. Only once he has grasped what I want will I add the cue again and then start making it harder - slowly. If you can set your dog up for success in his training - like me taking his stay training slowly so he doesn't break a stay - then he is much more likely to succeed in the end. If I had jumped up to 10 seconds straight away, then he would have likely broken, and then I would have been fighting the idea that he can break a stay if he wants for much much longer.

It is very important with clicker training - and probably all dog training - to always set your dog up for success by keeping it easy at the beginning. You can increase the difficulty of a behaviour once your dog understands later. Make it as easy as possible for you dog to succeed in training every new behaviour. This is such an important thing to remember, as well as behaviour re-teaching - which I sometimes forget about too and just expect Knightley to do a 1 minute wait outside because he can do it inside even though he has never done it outside. Then I get annoyed when he doesn't do it..... and then DOH! it hits me that I needed to take a few minutes to explain it again. Unfortunately that little mistake will put Knightley backwards. So make sure you re-teach your behaviours whenever you change anything like difficulty, distance, duration, place, surface or distractions.

Anyway, hopefully the posts will be a little more frequent once again now. I swear my body picks the worst times to collapse in a heap! Over and out from me.

So much in Level 2 but nearly there!

Zen

5 months 2 weeks 6 days old

Well, we are getting kind of close to finishing Level 2 of Sue Ailsby's Training Levels. We have a little more work to do, but compared to the HUGE amount of training contained in Level 2, we are close. The photos in this post come from over the last three months of training since Knightley was a little baby pup. Here's where Knightley and I stand.





Zen = complete, can leave treats alone on the floor in front of him for 1 minute.

Focus

Focus (eye contact) = complete except for using it through a car window which should be simple to polish off

Come

Come = not complete, we are getting a lot better, in a controlled environment he is good, but the final steps are coming 12m (40 foot) and proofing it everywhere. He is good at home, but on public grass I can't hope for more than a 75% response which isn't good enough.

Down

Down = not complete, but very nearly there, just have to do final steps that ask for a distance of 6m (20 feet) stay for 1 minute whilst walking around and talking, also being able to step over him and do it with kids around.

Sit

Sit = complete


Lazy (loose) leash = not complete, great inside at all steps involved but needs more work outside. Fine on a hard surface, but on grass he gets distracted.


Target = complete

Go to mat

Go to mat = complete, although may need a refresher







Tricks = not complete, have started training a new trick, should be finished and proofed soon

Crate

Crate = complete in his day to day crate, not complete in his portable crate



Handling = not complete, all complete except for the fourth step which is allowing clippers, pills, thermometers and toothbrushes. Need a little more work there.

Distance

Distance = complete 




Jump = not complete, nearly all done, just have to introduce him to some new jumps, then make put a mat and jump side by side and ask for cues one by one to test cue recognition

Relax

Relax = not complete, nearly done, just have to make sure he can go from excited for 1 minute, then relaxed for 1 minute, to excited for 1 minute etc. We've done it for less time but haven't pushed it to 1 minute.



Communication 2 = not complete, have only just started this one, Knightley will back up on cue, will move out of my personal space, but won't move out of my personal space automatically to my left yet, he doesn't yet know how to untangle a leash from his own front leg, nor from a pole if he got tangled in one. Of everything, the most work to be done is here.

Homework = not complete, I have to list 10 reasons a dog might not "obey a command".

It's actually really good for me to summarise it, so I am very clear what I have left to do.


While I am rather close to finishing, the last minute of doing all the little bits to finish may take longer than I expected. Normally you are expected to do everything in order, but that was not so much the case in Sue Ailsby's older levels, which is what I started Knightley on first. So that's why I'm a bit all over the place. Level 3 I will follow through as she suggests.

Looking ahead at Level 3, I have been doing a surprising amount of it already - quite as an accident though, simply as a consequence of pushing Knightley just a bit further on my own. For example, Level 3 sit is made up from mostly teaching your dog to go from a down to a sit then doing it at varying distances from you. We've done LOTS of that, so that will be very easy. Zen 3 is to wait to go through a door until the dog gets an invitation - we do that already. Focus (eye contact) starts with holding eye contact for 15 seconds, we can do up to 25 seconds with no problems. If you've been reading my blog much you will already know I have already been doing Level 3 retrieve - more than half of the steps involved - and I don't think it is going to be all that hard to polish it off. The amount of distance we were doing for the 'distance' behaviour was already Level 3 standard when I thought it was Level 2 (book is written all in feet and I'm very much a metres girl!) Also, some of Communication 3 we have already done, like paw targeting. So I have a headstart for Level 3, when I fix these last outstanding Level 2 behaviours.

I'm proud of my puppy. Myself too actually, as this is the first clicker training I've done, and it appears I'm not bad at it.

Zen, recall practice and crate improvement

5 months 2 weeks 5 days old

I am beginning to see the truth in what Sue Ailsby says, in that zen is the foundation for all training. Zen, when used in this context, basically means doggy self control - especially on cue. Like when you don't want your dog to follow you through a door even though he really wants to go, or you are eating food on your lap that he wants to steal, you can use your zen cue (mine is leave it) and he should retreat from whatever he wanted to go through or after. Saying leave it in front of an open door will stop Knightley in his tracks and he'll just stand there waiting for me to say our release word. The more you teach and use zen, the more it becomes a part of your dogs day to day impulse control. It helps him become a calmer dog, a thinking dog who considers consequences. I am definitely becoming more and more of a fan. It helps with other duration behaviours too, especially watch (eye contact), stays, wait, relax and so on. It should also help with our loose leash walking too - eventually - as he slowly conquers his urges to investigate every smell and spot near him, despite a tight collar.

Knightley doing a zen on a small pile of
kibble. I've trained him to keep eye contact
with me when staying away from food etc

It is impressive how well dogs can generalise the cue, because usually dogs are very poor generalisers. For instance, if you teach sit indoors all the time, and then suddenly expect your dog to sit outdoors for the first time ever, it is very likely he won't have a clue what you're talking about. You need to re-teach cues whenever you change the situation significantly - if you change the place, difficulty, duration etc. However, when it comes to zen, dogs generalise 'leave it' very well indeed. I can use the cue to stop Knightley from sniffing a patch of ground, from chewing something, from being too interested in our food, from eating food on the floor or even on his paws when in a down, from trying to mouth a comb or brush when trying to groom him.... the list is endless. I used Sue Ailsby's method for teaching it from the beginning, which from my description hopefully you can see was pretty successful. You can use her free online Training Levels to train zen, although I very much recommend her books, as they have a lot more information than the free Levels.

We continue to do LOTS of recall practice. I really want this to become solid. Some of the little tricks for getting a dog to come to you I can't do due to my physical limitations... for instance, dogs being predators it is nearly irresistible for a dog not to chase you if you run away a little, whilst calling. Once your dog associates the running with calling and coming, then you can start phasing out the running away, and your dog will still come. The other thing that can be very useful, but that I can't do once again, is to get down on all fours, or at least get your hands on the floor as you call. It is signals play to your dog, and if you call as you do it (once again to make the connection that call = fun) it is almost guaranteed to get your dog to come to you. Once he is close to you, drop a treat to your feet. This will mean that he never jumps up on you when he responds to a recall because he'll be aiming at your feet instead. It's a good idea to carry around some treats (I just use kibble) in your pocket during the day so that your dog never knows when he'll be rewarded for doing behaviours like sits and downs. Behaviours that we are actively working on, like recalls, I treat every time.

Doing a Level 2 behaviour - 30 seconds down inside the crate
automatically upon the cue to enter the crate. He only leaves
upon me giving him his release cue. What a cuddly looking
puppy!

We've nearly passed the Crate section of Level 2, which requires Knightley to get into his crate on cue (crate!), lie down automatically, then lie there for 30 seconds until I say the release word - whilst I do things around the room. I now just have to take it to different rooms, and teach it to him all over again in his portable fabric crate, which he isn't very good in!

In the new Levels books, you are meant to do all behaviours in order, but that is a change from the old Levels, where I had worked on pretty much all behaviours at once. So I am trying to finish the earlier Level 2 behaviours, before going on and finishing the later ones. Then I can go onto Level 3, yay! I can't wait to get done with Level 2, and it isn't all that far off now. What an awesome puppy I have.

Knightley and cupboards, loose leash, back to work

5 months 1 week 5 days old

So the pup still has a bad stomach, although it seems to be a little better. He is sure enjoying his rice and chicken meals.... they smell so good I wouldn't mind eating them!! I am using them for his training, and he will do just about anything to get his greedy maw on them, so that is useful.

We're doing more work on his cupboard closing skills. 

Paw there Mr Knightley!

Bullseye!

Yes!

Yes!!

Have some yummy chicken and rice
for being such a very good boy.

Big whack incoming!! This one closed
the door.

Our next challenge, which wasn't in the original levels, but is in the new books, is to teach Knightley to target my feet. This would be an especially useful first step if you had serious mobility problems and wanted to teach your dog to take off your socks in the future. So maybe later today we'll try doing the foot targeting. I don't anticipate much trouble, he has always enjoyed nose targeting on my hand and on wands and other objects. I actually enjoy teaching brand new things, now that he *gets* shaping watching him learn is just fascinating and really addictive. 

We've been doing more LLW practice, as is in the Training Level books by Sue Ailsby. Firstly I put him in a sit/down and then pulling gently on a flat/martingale collar until he moves into the pressure, then immediately c/t. Then the second exercise is slowly walking around with him on a leash inside, and change directions suddenly so that there is some pressure on the leash. When he moves into the pressure and the tightness stops, I quickly c/t and give him lots of praise. If I am giving him lots of leash space, then when I give the treat I drop it at my feet to encourage him to hang around me despite the relative freedom. He is a long way away from staying loose on his flat/martingale collar. 

Doing Loose Leash Walking (LLW) practice, so that if Knightley
feels any pressure on the leash he is to slow down  and turn
 into me.  Dogs, and indeed all animals, have the instinct to push 
   *into* the pressure in order to escape, which is why they tend
 to pull so much. To reverse that  instinct every time the dog actually
    moves *towards*  the pressure you must make it a pleasurable
experience, so that the dog will start doing it every time it feels the
 leash pressure. It does take a long time, but it is very much worth it.

We need to do a lot more practice with this, although he is pretty good at it inside. Take the treats away, go outside where there are lots of big parrots and exciting people and dogs, and what he has learnt flies out the window. So lots more practice inside until it's completely perfect, including keeping it lose around treats on the floor, then practice in the backyard, then back and forward in the street.... THEN we will start venturing afield. They say keeping a loose leash is perhaps the hardest thing to teach. I would have to agree. Teaching Knightley to close the kitchen cupboard door was so simple compared to keeping his leash loose on a flat collar. He's pretty good on his front buckle harness, but sigh. We'll get there!

We also do heel training inside the house, without the leash. This is a more formal heel, with his spine aligned at right angles to the direction I am facing. I keep up the clicking when he is in good alignment, and do things like put him in a wait, turn at right angles, and then ask him to heel and watch him turn the corner so he will sit at my left again. We also practice finishes, although it is 'just' the traditional behind finish, where the dog goes from in front of you, walks to your right side, still facing you, then goes behind you, heading for your left side.... and ends up in a sit at your left side. 

We haven't done much work on the swing finish (only a little pivot work), which is much more difficult. The dogs front paws move just a little to where they will be in their final position by your side, then the dog swings on the spot - the front paws almost glued to the spot and the back legs doing all the walking around for 180 degrees until the dog has turned all the way around, and then the dog sits. As I said, much harder!

My husband and I both go back to work this week. Hubby already went back this morning, I am not back until Thursday. He wasn't looking forward to it after our couple of weeks off over Christmas, could have done with a couple more weeks off I think. However, I am looking forward to it a lot. I am finally starting my paid position there in a couple of weeks. I have been a volunteer up until now, just working on getting my stamina for paid work up, and finally I am at that point where a small amount of paid work is possible for me. It has been more than three years since I have been well enough to commit to paid work, so this is a big step for me. They seem to like me so much there that they have chosen me for a paid contract position for a project that has come up with some government funding. I will stay as a volunteer for events and some extra hours that they may need me for, but it will be great to be actually working again. I look forward to a future where having a canine companion may help me do longer hours at places further out of the way. Not to mention the independence to actually shop on my own! Which I haven't done for over three years. 

I think those small things are what I miss the most. I truly hope Knightley brings me some of that independence I long for so very much. He is turning out to be such a lovely dog, and a smart one as well! Just thinking of him always brings a smile to my face. I think he has a good chance of making it as an assistance dog. But you never know how dogs will change over their lifetimes. Keep it slow and try not to expect too much, Lyssa!

101 Things to Do with a Box, a lovely walk and progress with Levels

5 months 1 week 2 days old

So today Knightley and I had a lovely cool very early morning walk - about 5:30am. It has been rather warm here of late, as you would know if you have been reading my blog regularly... so getting out in the morning means you experience the nicest temperatures. It was indeed lovely this morning, pearly light, a gentle breeze, parrots squawking from the trees and most of all, rather cool - so much so I had to go back for a jacket. Such a relief from the last couple of days. I took Knightley out on his long line down to the local sporting oval and we practiced recalls as I let him run around like a crazy thing. It's a very long long line - 10m (33feet), so he gets a good run, and the recalls are a very good test. I am pleased to say that he was probably 95% accurate on his responses to me, which is pretty good. I still wouldn't trust him off leash, as if a bird comes along, his brain flies out his ears... but it's a good start. Sometimes when he is transfixed on something in the house, and won't respond to his name - even appears to not hear me, he WILL respond to the cue 'come'. I have been very careful to not poison the cue (give it a potentially negative meaning, eg by putting him in his crate straight after he responds to the cue, or taking away something from him after he has responded), and to only use it when it is extremely likely he will indeed obey. It seems to have paid off. I will continue to proof it, with more and more distractions... but it is a good start for a 5 month old pup.

Knightley performing his 'under' cue shortly after he learnt it.
Since then I have proofed it with anything it is possible for
him to get under - even my camera tripod!

We did something new today, Knightley and I. We finally tried out the classic clicker game "101 Things to Do with a Box" (Karen Pryor's instructions for the game). Until fairly recently Knightley and I have been pretty awful at shaping, and I do truly think it was primarily Knightley with a mental block. Of course I have a lot to learn as I am a crossover trainer, but once Knightley understood the process, his progress has been extremely rapid. I actually have training the "under" cue to thank for helping him understand. It was a fairly tough ask, shaping wise, and over several sessions he was obviously asking himself "what the hell is this woman clicking for???:"... but eventually he understood and the whole shaping world was open to us.

Anyway, so I got out a box for him to experiment with (very easy as we have tens if a hundred of the things throughout the house at the moment due to my brother moving out) and sat down to see what would happen. What you do with this game is decide every session upon something different you want your dog to do with the box - such as stand in it, drag it, bump it with its nose, thwack it with its paw, two front paws in it, two back paws, turn it over.... and so on. The more creative the dog the better. You can just let the dog experiment and when you see something you like, start clicking it. Knightley was impressively creative, considering it was his first time. He got the idea pretty much straight away, and after he pawed it a couple of times, I decided I'd try getting him standing with his two front paws in the box. 5 minutes later or so, done!

At the beginning he started barking a bit, as he does quite often when I am shaping... but I had a little brain wave, and decided to use the ideas of something called 'micro-shaping', where even a nose twitch or eye flicker can be clicked if it shows the correct intent. I didn't go quite that far, but I did start clicking a lot more for smaller things, thereby giving Knightley more feedback than he had been getting. I thought I was increasing criteria too quickly, or making the criteria too big... but I think the reason he has been barking is not enough clicking and fast treating!! Wow, revelation! So I'm going to focus on fast treat delivery, and not just for shaping.

Sitting in front of an open door. One of the comeafters
for sit. Handy for when you are busy with shopping and
keys etc, to have a dog who will wait quietly until told. I
have him do it when going out also.

As a Christmas Gift Sue Ailsby produced a checklist of the New Training Levels as contained in her books - the ones I got a few weeks back. It has more accurately shown me where we are up to in our training, and we are going very well indeed. We're probably about 3/4 of the way through Level 2, although we have more of what are called the "Comeafters" to do, which are sort of extra bonus proofing to make sure your dog has really truly learnt the new skills. Despite those, we are making fine progress. I have been thinking about retraining down however. His down has always been slow and is probably about 75% accurate at the moment. Not really acceptable. I did too much luring in its training I think, and didn't fade the lure fast enough, which is why I have ended up with an unreliable cue. So I'll see. Maybe even a new cue would help.

I asked for help on the traininglevels yahoo list several days back about Knightley's barking and excitement issues when we're practicing the start of the retrieve training - which is just getting him to quietly hold objects for longer and longer, and is a level 3 skill. I got quite a  few replies basically telling me to go back to where I came from, and that Knightley couldn't do it because that was simply how the levels worked, and if I followed it all in order then by the time I actually *got* to the retrieve training, then he would have been made ready for it by all the other skills he had learnt.

The items I am practicing retrieve holds with Knightley. A traditional
plastic dumbell, a light canvas bumper-like bone, a box clicker, a carabiner
a spoon and a pencil. Enough variation to get him used to all sorts of
things in his mouth, although we do the most work with the dumbell and
canvas bone.

So I eventually became convinced by the argument, including comments from Sue herself... but decided to just give it one last go before I said goodbye to it for however long it would be. Unfortunately or fortunately..... suddenly it had clicked in Knightley's head and he was doing quiet calm holds..... SIGH. Now what do I do?!?! I have continued to train the hold since then, and he is doing even better!! He can nearly do 5 second holds consistently, which is the next step nearly done. GAH!! So tempting to keep on going................ People who read this, what should I do? Be a good little girl and do the levels in order? Or continue training what Knightley can obviously do and is definitely enjoying! The thing is, if he can start to pick up things earlier than the rest of his assistance dog function comes 'online', then that would make my life quite a bit easier. I know I should be taking it slowly, as my role of assistance dog client and trainer do clash and could be influencing me to Knightley's detriment on this... but he has suddenly started to do really well here. Big big sigh. Aaaanyway.

Outward Hound Quick Access Treat Bag. It has been
just great and has really sped up my treat delivery,
which in turn improves the quality of my training
overall. You see it in this photo with the opening
snapped open.

I ordered a new treat pouch about ten days ago or so, from the US, and a couple of days ago it arrived. One of my problems of late has been a delay in between the click and treat, leading to slower training and poorer learning. Part of the reason for that has been my treat pouches, or when I use my pocket, or even having the treats in my lap when I train sitting down. None of them really encourage fast treating. Kikopup on Youtube has a fantastic treat pouch that I have always been taken with because it would facilitate such fast treating. So I set out to look for something similar. I found the "Outward Hound Quick Access Treat Bag" on eBay and absolutely love it. It snaps open to a permanently open position, or can snap back closed, keeping your treats safe. There is a fair range of quick access treat bags out there, so I recommend if you're clicker training and don't have a fast way of grabbing your treats, look at getting something like this one.

Anyway, that's all from me today. You may have noticed I am blogging more often. It is a conscious effort as I think it makes me a better trainer. I notice more what I am doing from day to day, and think about it more. I also get more traffic! So please, if you enjoy reading this blog, do follow it and show me that I have some regular readers. Also, if you would like to hear about a particular part of Knightley's training at this puppy stage, please ask and I would be happy to blog about it!