Cabana the Canine Educator

Our shelter has a wonderful Humane Education program, where human/canine teams are invited to local schools to provide animal-related lessons to students ranging from Kindergarten to 8th grade. I had Cabana take the Canine Good Citizen test last year so that she would be eligible to participate. There are a total of 10 different lessons, geared for various age groups, which teach kids about caring for and respecting animals, and how they contribute to our lives and to society.

The first lesson we participated in was a lesson called Best Friends, which teaches young students about how to safely greet a dog and how to help care for their pets.

Because younger students can sometimes be afraid of bigger dogs (although I consider Cabana rather medium-sized myself), we did the lesson with another team that included Bubbles, the cutest little tiny pug I've ever seen. The kids got to choose whether to brush Cabana or Bubbles. I was happy to see that the class ended up pretty equally divided in their selection. Cabana may be 5 times the size of Bubbles, but I don't think many kids could stay scared of her.

We did the same lesson a few weeks later for a Kindergarten class. There were a couple students that admitted to being scared of dogs in general. The teacher asked those children if they would be willing to sit near Cabana and Bubbles. Within a few minutes, the little boy sitting by Cabana became much more comfortable and even petted her throughout the lesson.

The director of the program asked me to design a dog safety poster, using the acrostic "L.A.S.T", which stands for Look, Ask, Show, Touch. I had my younger daughter to sketch a picture of a child looking at a dog and his owner. I scanned the picture and manipulated it in Illustrator to make this poster.

The last lesson we did was probably my favorite. It was called "Science in the Real World: Solving a Veterinary Mystery" and was presented to a 6th grade class by an actual veterinarian. He pretended to examine Cabana and gave the students clues about her "illness". He would ask me questions, and I would answer according to a script I had been given earlier. The students were also allowed to ask questions, and their job was to use their deductive reasoning skills to figure out which of four possible illnesses Cabana had.

The correct answer was heartworm! Blechh, thank goodness it wasn't real! I'm looking forward to future participation in the coming school year.

Read more...

(Not Very) Wordless Wednesday - Cabana Boys

I wanted this to be a wordless post, but I couldn't resist explaining the photo. Cabana used to be a reading buddy at the local Boys & Girls Club. A few of the boys that used to read to her sometimes come to the park on weekends and hang out while their dads play in a soccer league. They recognize Cabana and come over to say hello. Cabana recognizes them, too.

The boys were already lined up in this stair-step fashion, so I had Cabana go sit in front of them for this photo. I love the relaxed nonchalance in all of their stances, especially Cabana with her slightly raised front paw. Hams, all of them.

Read more...

Cabana Good Citizen

Over the weekend, Cabana took the Canine Good Citizen test--and wonder of wonders, she passed! This was our first time taking the test, and I really wasn't sure if she would pass, with the culprit being "reaction to another dog". The dogs are only allowed to show "polite interest" in one another, and we've never been able to completely master Cabana's dog distraction.

Thankfully, the evaluators weren't that picky. Cabana did attempt to meet the other dog, but she sat when I asked her to. Her loose leash walking wasn't as loose as it should have been, but I think the evaluators know it's hard to keep the dogs from being too excited in a new, dog-filled environment and are somewhat lenient.

I TRIED to get to the test location early, but I couldn't find the address. I drove back and forth on the road and even called my husband to look it up online for me (I don't have a smart phone). Finally, I found the location in the nick of time, just had a minute to relieve Cabana before walking into the dog-filled training center. Thank goodness Cabana still knows how to relieve on command, especially since eliminating during the test is immediate failure.

Treats are not allowed during the test, so I didn't bring a single treat with me. Not a smart move, considering that Cabana is so used to getting treats for good behavior. There were 10 other dogs in the room, also taking the test, and we sat in the only available spot, next to a big handsome male black lab. Of course, Cabana was DYING to meet the hunk, but I couldn't let her. I sat down and had Cabana down-stay in front of me. But she kept looking up at me and groaning, expecting a treat for being so good about not meeting the big black lab.

Since we had gotten there last, we were the last ones to take the test. So for an hour, Cabana grunted and groaned at me, telling me that she wanted to meet all the other dogs, like this Ibizan hound and American Eskimo dog, and if she wasn't allowed to, shouldn't she be getting treats instead?

It actually turned out best that Cabana was the last to get tested because finally, after an hour of being busy of mind, body and sound, she settled down and relaxed. The black lab had already tested and left early, after performing all the test items perfectly. It was also helpful that Cabana watched the other dogs take the test--I think it definitely clued her in on what to expect.

All but one of the dogs passed. The dog that didn't pass was extremely stressed, urinated submissively twice while waiting for her turn to test, and during the test, refused to "stay". There were also two black labs and two pitbulls who had to leave right after being tested, so they are not in the photo. I heard one of the pitbull owners say she needed her dog to pass the CGC test so she could show the certificate to the landlord of a house she wanted to rent. Breedism is so unfortunate, but I'm glad she's able to have documented proof that her dog is not a liability. (Cabana is so used to having her photo taken, she's the only dog looking straight at the camera.)

After the testing was done, I drove straight to a pet store and bought Cabana a bully stick. I felt awful that she had done such a good job and that I'd had nothing to reward her with! Here, she looks more like a walrus than a Canine Good Citizen!

So what does it mean, now that Cabana is a Canine Good Citizen? For us, it basically means that she can participate in an elementary school program in our area, where they bring in dogs and teach the kids how to properly meet and greet them. Cabana is already a therapy dog, but for many therapy dog organizations, the CGC is a requirement.

Most importantly, I also thought it meant that Cabana would get a cute CGC pin to attach to her therapy dog jacket. But the pin they gave us only has the name of the training facility on it. I looked on the AKC website, though, and saw that we can buy our own CGC pin, so I guess that's what we'll do.

Read more...

A Job at the Library

When Cabana became a therapy dog last year, our first choice (or at least my first choice) was to work at the local library where Cabana could be a reading buddy for children. There were no openings there at the time, but just last week, we were asked to take a regular shift on Tuesday afternoons.

For a bit of practice and to keep her from being overly excited on our first official shift of work, in an effort to be all organized and prepared, I took Cabana to the library a few days before. She did a great job and was, surprisingly, very calm. She sat obediently and allowed the children's librarian to pet her. We walked easily through the stacks, and she behaved like she'd been there a million times before! Piece of cake!

Then, yesterday, we went back for the "real thing". And this time, for whatever reason, Cabana was UBER excited! So much for the practice and trying to think ahead...sigh. It's true that there were more children in the area than previously, but there had been children there on the practice visit, too. Who knows why, but the energy level was just different. After trying to jump all over the librarian and a few other adults, Cabana contained herself. Thankfully, she doesn't ever jump on children (only because they're already at her level, I don't think it's due to any great obedience on her part). She settled down very nicely on the "reading blankie" I made for this purpose, and we had about 6-7 kids read to her.

I had a great time. The kids were so adorable, and they seemed to think Cabana was adorable, too. We're looking forward to going back next Tuesday.

Read more...

Reading Buddy Bookmarks

Cabana really enjoys being a reading buddy. Every Friday, we go to the local Boys & Girls Club, and she "listens" while 7-10 kids read to her. Now she knows what's coming when I put on her therapy jacket and she prances the 2 blocks to the club. When we arrive, the kids, who have just eaten lunch, are so excited to see her, and Cabana loves the commotion. She doesn't jump or get crazy, mostly I think because her nose is in heaven as she sniffs the kids with all their cacophony of scents--sweat, sunscreen, detergent, and FOOD.

Before we sit down on the green naugahyde couch for stories, the kids always want to see Cabana do a few tricks. Their favorite is to cover their ears with their hands (in preparation of what's to come) and say, "Cabana, SPEAK!" When Cabana lets out her deep and booming single bark, they are startled every time by how loud and unlike her it is. It's hilarious, and I have to say, it still surprises me every time, too! I think it even surprises Cabana herself because sometimes, she tries to do a quiet, muffled little "erf", but that never satisfies the kids. They ask her to speak until they get a true resounding "ROWFF".

Last week, I took a photo of each student sitting next to Cabana. I inserted the photos into a bookmark that I designed, printed them, and had them laminated. Tomorrow, I'll hand them out to the kids.

This is manageable for the Boys & Girls Club because it's the same kids every time. But I would like to have some bookmarks professionally printed with a generic photo so I can hand them out whenever I can't give personalized bookmarks.

I can't decide which photo of Cabana I want to use. Which do you like best?

The text on the bookmarks reads, "Cabana is a 2-year-old yellow labrador retriever. She is called a 'career change dog' because she was supposed to work as a Guide Dog for the Blind. But because she was too 'dog distracted', her new career is being a reading buddy and a spoiled pet. Cabana can do lots of tricks like sit, stay, touch, take a bow, shake hands, and everyone's favorite, speak! Her favorite activities are going to the beach, playing with doggy pals, jumping in mud puddles, and most of all, eating."

Read more...

And Now, Back to Cabana

Poor Cabana, this is supposed to be her blog, but somehow, her air time got usurped by a lot of other doggy activities! Even though I've been busy at the animal shelter, I make sure Cabana never gets short shrift in real life, although she might sometimes get left out on her blog.

Cabana still enjoys her daily morning walk to the dog park fields, about 3 miles round trip, plus whatever running Cabana does at the park. Now that school is out, we leave the house around 7am. The streets and paths are quiet, so Cabana gets to walk off-leash most of the time. There are still a few spots where I have to leash her because of the lure of cat poop, but other than that, Cabana has earned the privilege of freedom. If we cross paths with other people, with or without dogs, I always call Cabana over to me, and she walks alongside me until the people pass, after which she's free to meander.

On our morning walks, we often see the former trainer for Guide Dogs for the Blind who lives in our neighborhood (he recently retired after 27 years there), along with his wife (also a former dog trainer) and their German shepherd, Dillon. Last week, they both commented on how much Cabana has matured and has become such a well-mannered and wonderful dog. They had witnessed firsthand how much I struggled with Cabana when she was a puppy in training, since Cabana always seemed to be extra uncontrollable around them. So it was a proud moment for me.

A less-than-proud moment was when, later that morning, Cabana found a mud hole at the dog park. It seems there is a faulty sprinkler head in the middle of the field, and it forms a puddle that never dries out.

Cabana decided that the puddle was an invitation to dig her way to China. Cat poop ingesting is not the only cause for leashing, as Cabana learned that day. Getting to be off-leash is a privilege, even at the off-leash dog park.

Cabana's therapy work has had a few hiccups. We stopped going to the Alzheimer's residence for a number of reasons, but mostly because they had us scheduled to come during their social hour, which is when all the residents are eating snacks. It was just too challenging to keep Cabana from becoming a vacuum cleaner every time. Plus, the therapy dog organization was dealing with internal political junk. The organization splintered into three different groups, then two of the groups joined back together again. They assigned us to a library for a reading dog program, so we got mentored there, only to have them take the post away from us before we could actually begin, because one of the splintered-off groups took over that location.

Long story short, we have now started volunteering at our local Boys & Girls Club. Today was Cabana's first day as a reading buddy! She did a fabulous job. The kids loved her, and she loved them. She curled right up on their green naugahyde couch, and kids ranging from 6 to 16 took turns reading to her. They each gave her a treat after saying, "the end". I think that might become her favorite phrase.

Read more...

Focus on the Feet

Today, Cabana and I visited the Alzheimer's residence. I took my camera with me so I could get a shot or two of Cabana working, but I was careful not to take photos of the residents since that is usually discouraged. When I came home and uploaded my photos, I saw that they all had a recurring theme--FEET!

Here is Cabana doing a "go to bed" on an ottoman, while we visit with a couple of nice women, as represented by their feet in the photo. The barefooted woman asked me what grade I was in. I explained that I am 46-years old and no longer in school, but that I was flattered by her question. I remembered the barefooted woman's name from previous weeks, so she was flattered back at me that I remembered her. I was a bit scared of the black shoe wearing woman because she looks and sounds really gruff, yet she told me repeatedly how wonderful I was to come visit them. I came home and wrote down her name on my cheat-sheet post-it note, so that I can try to flatter her next time. After all, flattery can get you everywhere...but maybe only for 5 minutes in an Alzheimer's ward (ha ha).

In between the black shoe and the white sneaker is Bella, who belongs to one of the residents. Bella does NOT warm up quickly to humans or dogs. On our previous visits, Bella barked at us the entire time we were in the room. But today, she didn't bark once--progress! These Alzheimer's residents may not remember us, but Bella sure seems to. Right now, she won't let me pet her, and she won't let Cabana sniff her--but it is now my therapeutic mission in life to make friends with this little sweater-wearing munchkin. You can bet your pink tennis balls on that, Bella!

This dagger-clawed hound is Honey, who hangs out at the reception desk. Honey is a sedentary old gal, which is a good thing because if she jumped up on anyone, those toenails could inflict some damage, don't you think?! Last time we were there, Honey actually romped around the lobby with Cabana. A few staff members were amazed, saying that they've never seen Honey play with anybody or anything. But today, when Cabana tried to play with her, Honey harumphed and growled--she wasn't in the mood. It was a balmy 83 degrees, so maybe she was too hot to romp. We'll see if she wants to play next time we visit.

These little doggy goals help motivate me because this dog therapy stuff is harder than I thought! I figured Cabana would be the one "working" and I wouldn't have to do much more than hold onto her leash--how naïve of me! My introverted social needs are so minimal that spending an hour talking to strangers can be daunting, especially when the conversations tend to be a string of non sequiturs. But I figure this is like any new discipline--it takes practice, making mistakes, being flexible, and willingness to learn. Hey, maybe I'm still in school after all. I'll let you know when I make it past Kindergarten.

Read more...

Back to Work

My recent posts have all been about Cabana at play, but today, she was a working dog. Here we both are in our canine therapy uniforms.

This was our first time visiting the Alzheimer's facility totally on our own. After going there with the mentor twice and waiting for Cabana's jacket and my badge to arrive, I totally lost momentum. It took me weeks to finally pick up the phone and set up a schedule with the volunteer coordinator. It can be so hard to get the ball rolling sometimes, especially for someone as phone averse as me.

Today's visit was pretty good. After our last visit, I wrote down the names of some of the residents I'd met along with a short description, as a "cheat sheet" so I could remember them and address them by name. I was glad I'd done that because I saw them again today, and they were very pleased that I remembered them.

Cabana did great. She doesn't have to do much because being cute gets her a lot of free points. The weak link is me! I know I can't be too hard on myself because I'm new and externally, I do alright. I'm not nervous or too terribly awkward. But inside, I'm having a hard time!

It's very difficult to "read" the residents because they can be somewhat expressionless. They don't always respond when I ask them if they'd like to visit with Cabana, so I don't really know what they want. Some of them try to talk but can't get out the words. Really, the ones that ask me the same question over and over again are the easy ones! At least they're aware of our presence and are trying to carry on a conversation.

Last time I was there, I brought Cabana over to a table of women who were playing cards and eating potato chips. The whole time I was there, two of the women were having the most caustic argument, calling each other horrible names and being generally hateful to each other. I was rather taken aback and even said that maybe a staff member should move one of them to the other end of the table. The staff member walking by just rolled her eyes and said they do this all the time. But the funny thing is, today, the two women were sitting next to each other again, laughing and acting like best friends! These two women are now my impetus for going back--I want to see if they're friends or enemies the next time we visit!

Read more...

First Time at the Facility

Today, for the first time, Cabana got to go to the Alzheimer's facility where we will be volunteering. It's a VERY nice place, extremely clean and inviting. There are about 80 residents living there--and a staff of almost 80, too! Can't beat that kind of ratio.

Our mentor said that Cabana did a great job. Cabana was quite excited to be there and even more excited about the basset hound that hangs out at the reception desk. She tried to get Honey to play with all her might, but to my relief, Honey was beyond such puppyish shenanigans.

Overall, Cabana was very pull-y on her leash, as I knew she would be, but when people wanted to pet and interact with her, she was very calm and obliging. She never jumped up on anyone or got too squirmy, though she did do a whole lot of sniffing (not anything inappropriate, thank goodness, but still, not everyone wants to be given an olfactory once-over). A couple times, I had Cabana "go to bed" on an ottoman so the residents could pet her more easily, and of course, she was more than happy to do that. Sadly, she accepted a potato chip that one resident proffered her--oops. I saw it happening, but I didn't have the heart to tell the old woman not to give it to her. Oh well, now Cabana knows what a potato chip tastes like.

I think Cabana will be calmer after going a few times, but I knew that keeping a loose leash in the beginning was not going to happen. In preparation, I bought a couple of teal leads that the therapy dog organization was selling for $3 each. Using some hardware and buckles I had, I cut the leads to make Cabana a collar and matching front-clip harness, patterned after our Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness. Here she is modeling them in our living room. When Cabana gets her official therapy dog jacket in a couple weeks, it will also be teal, so everything will be matchy-matchy. I was so glad to have the harness today; otherwise, Cabana would have been pulling even more and choking herself in a very embarrassing display.

Speaking of harnesses, did you know that harnesses are now allowed in the Canine Good Citizen test? Previously, only flat collars were acceptable, but as of this past November, harnesses can also be worn. That's good news for us, since we still want to take the test at some point, even though it isn't a requirement for this facility. NOTE: A commenter told me later that some kinds of harnesses are allowed, but NOT the Easy Walk harnesses with front clip. I don't know why--but it's a huge bummer!!

Now, all that's left to become official is getting Cabana's therapy dog jacket. They will have it embroidered with her name, and it should be mailed to us in the next couple weeks. Hooray!!

Read more...

Mending Hearts

Thank you for the kind and encouraging comments on my last post. I was touched all last week by how much small kindnesses can mean so much when things are difficult. Having a week of sunshine and warm temps was helpful, too. Keeping Cabana exercised and active helped boost my own spirits, and we had some fun in spite of difficult circumstances (which are much better now, thankfully).

We had a few playdates with Bodhi, one of the blue picardy spaniels.

Bodhi plays a bit rough--and Cabana LOVES it. She holds her own with him in a wrestling match. But I remove her collar when Bodhi is around because he likes to bite it and once got his jaw caught under it.

But Bodhi can outrun Cabana easily every time. That's okay, he can keep that ol' frisbee!

We also went for a hike around a lake. It's not a place we go to often, so Cabana was extremely excited to be there. She was good about the ducks (didn't even notice them actually) and never even tried to snack on the duck poop all over this pier.

But when I tried to get her out onto these rocks for a photo, she did pull me down onto the slippery bank. I slipped and fell, and my camera got slapped into the mud. I got my photo, but dirty jeans and bruised knees paid the price for it.

Last week, I had my first therapy dog mentoring session at the Alzheimer's residence. (There were no classroom positions available, which is okay. I'm glad the decision was made for me.) I observed my mentor with her 10-year old Corgi. After 8 years of therapy work, he's a true pro. Tomorrow, it will be Cabana's turn to get to go with me. We'll see how she does!

Read more...

Constant Cabana

Life has been challenging lately. But we have to accept the low points, just as we'd accept the high ones, right? During these tough spots, I'm so immensely grateful for Cabana. Walking her and seeing her play is instant therapy (and cheap therapy at that). The other night, my family and I came home after an incredibly difficult situation. It was midnight, and we were exhausted. But I saw Cabana sleeping at her usual spot on the ottoman, so I stopped to give her a quick hug and kiss on the top of her head. As my family members came into the house after me, I smiled to myself as each one of them stopped and went over to pet Cabana as I had done. It wasn't what we were doing for Cabana--it was what she was doing for us. It was like each one of us was saying, "Life is hard, but here is our sweet soft dog, and everything will be okay."

Read more...

Checking Things Out

This morning, I had to drop my car off for its 90K service. Whenever I take my car to the shop, which is just under 2 miles away, Cabana and I walk back home. It's much easier than trying to coordinate with someone for a ride or wait around for their shuttle service. It's not a very pretty route, though, and we have to walk along a freeway overpass. The cars race by us and under us, but Cabana doesn't seem to mind the traffic at all.

Today, with just a slight detour, we walked past the Alzheimer's facility where we might volunteer. I just wanted to see the facility up close and give Cabana a chance to sniff around the grounds, so that if we come back to work there, she'll be a bit familiar and hopefully, a little less excitable.

The building and grounds, pictured above, are beautiful. I can tell this is a top-of-the-line facility. When we were walking by, there was a big truck out front, delivering tons of brand new plastic-wrapped furniture for their common area. Everything looked really gorgeous.

I could see the reception desk through the glass front doors. Off to the side, there was a dog bed with a Basset hound sleeping there. The therapy dog mentor had told me that there was a resident Basset hound there and had asked me if Cabana was dog-friendly. I said, oh yes, she'll probably want to play with the Basset hound. But it looks like this Basset is an old-timer (but maybe that's how all Basset hounds look?), which is probably best for our situation, since Cabana will be respectful of his likely lack of desire to frolic.

Thank you for your input on my Tuesday Topic yesterday. It was a pretty mixed bag, no consensus! But that's okay, it mirrored exactly how I feel, too. There are benefits to both. I appreciated readers sharing about their own relatives who have struggled with Alzheimer's--even though I have yet to meet the residents, it gave them a face and a context. It personalized the idea of them for me, reminding me that these people are someone's mother or aunt or brother or grandfather.

I haven't made a decision yet on whether to do the school or the Alzheimer's residence. I wish I could do both, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. The mentor is going to call me later this week and let me know if the school needs another reading dog team there. If not, then the decision will be made for me. We'll wait and see.

Read more...

Tuesday Topics #37 - Young or Old?

It has been a while since I've posted a Tuesday Topic, but I would love input, especially (but by no means exclusively) from readers who have experience with a therapy dog program

Last weekend, I completed the human training portion of the therapy dog program. Our next step is to pick a facility and go through a mentoring process, first visiting the facility with the mentor and her dog where I would be observing them. Then, the mentor will come with Cabana and me and observe us, provide feedback, and if needed, come with us another time, until we are comfortable going on our own.

So I'm trying to decide whether to volunteer at a facility for older folks (an Alzheimers assisted living facility near my house) or in an elementary school classroom in the next town.

I think Cabana would be fine with either age group, although it's hard for me to know for sure until we actually try it. As a reading dog, I think Cabana would enjoy being around the children, but it involves sitting still (and pretending to listen to books) for a long period of time, up to an hour. Of course, she can take breaks in between readers, but mostly, it's sitting or lying still. At the Alzheimers facility, we would either go during their "social hour" or visit residents in their rooms. So there would be more walking around and shorter visits with a greater number of people. I'll likely be having the same conversations over and over again, since the Alzheimers residents might not remember what they asked me two minutes ago, but I don't know if that's such a bad thing. Or maybe it will drive me crazy, I just don't know.

This therapy dog program recently lost a lot of its facilities, due to a split in the group. So there aren't very many places to choose from. The Alzheimers facility and this particular school are the only places within a 10-mile radius. I had originally wanted to volunteer at the library, but that is no longer an option.

Any thoughts on which way I should go, older people or young 'uns?

Read more...

Cabana is a CAT Dog!

Hooray, I'm pleased to announce that Cabana passed her Canine Assisted Therapy evaluation with flying colors! (You were right, Nicole!)

This morning, I woke with a start at 7am. ACK, I NEVER sleep that late! I always wake up around 6:30am, whether I want to or not, so I didn't bother to set an alarm clock.

After much rushing around, I was still able to make it to the class on time. My goal was to be one of the first to arrive, since Cabana can still be quite dog distracted. I knew that sitting for 3+ hours in a room full of dogs that Cabana wasn't allowed to play with would be a challenge. We were the second ones there, and we nabbed a spot in the corner, where Cabana got comfy on her go-to-bed mat.

There were a lot of other beautiful dogs there. This dog is a big sheltie or small collie. I can't remember which.

This doberman was such a majestic creature, very calm and graceful--but HUGE! I don't think he'll be getting up on too many hospital beds (which isn't really allowed anyway).

This English Springer Spaniel is 10-years old. Surprisingly, most of the dogs were on the younger side, about 2-3 years old, like Cabana.

Cabana and this German shepherd were very interested in each other from opposite ends of the room. The German shepherd made lots of wistful noises at not being allowed to come introduce himself. Then later in the day, he walked by us, and Cabana stood up and let out a LOUD single bark, trying to get his attention, I guess. When I shushed her, she turned to me, sat her bottom down on her mat, and offered me each of her front paws in quick succession. I think they were gestures of apology, like, "Look, Mom, I'm done being naughty. Now I'm doing all kinds of things I think you might want me to do."

There was a separate room for the actual evaluation, where each handler and dog team took turns being tested. We entered the room, where lots of cheetos or cheesy popcorn (it was hard to tell exactly what they were) had been strewn on the floor. I had Cabana sit next to me while I filled out a form. Later, the evaluator commended me for taking the time to make sure I had placed Cabana where I could be aware of her actions before turning to fill out the paperwork. But at the time, all the volunteers laughed at Cabana's silly sit, as her legs continued to sprawl out further on the slippery floor!

The evaluators handled Cabana all over--her paws, her belly, they checked out her ears and her teeth. Although Cabana was a bit resistant to them opening her mouth to look at her teeth, she didn't react negatively to any of it. Then, we weaved through an obstacle course of orange cones, and Cabana didn't go for the cheetos on the floor even once! (Actually, I think the cheetos were really old and stale, maybe even recycled for each session, so that they didn't have much food value left to them, not that they have much food value even when fresh--but anyway, I'm not complaining.) We also had to walk by opening umbrellas, people making loud and erratic noises, a person with a walker, and another in a wheelchair. Finally, we navigated through a narrow space between a hospital bed and the wall, took a seat, and role played introducing ourselves and interacting with a patient lying in the bed.

Cabana handled everything perfectly, and the volunteers in the room all commented about her happy prancing walk. It seemed like Cabana knew she had done a good job and was proud of herself! I was extremely proud of her, too.

So next week, the humans go back for a day-long orientation, where they will go over protocols, choice of facilities, and such. We can choose to volunteer at a hospital, convalescent home, or Cabana can be a reading dog at a library or school. Or we can do some of both. There is an assisted care center on their list of facilities that is walking distance from my house, so I'm slightly leaning toward that one. It would be convenient to be able to walk there, and I also like the idea of being in my own community.

But I'm open to whatever needs there may be. And mostly, I'm relieved that Cabana passed!

Read more...

No Therapy...Yet

Last week was spent preparing Cabana for her therapy dog evaluations. We did a lot of "leave it" practice, mannerly leash walking, and went on as many outings as possible. We visited a number of hardware stores and fabric shops, any places I could think of that allow dogs. I wanted Cabana to get used to going into different buildings, so that when she went to get evaluated, going someplace new wouldn't be quite so exciting to her.

But we never made it to the therapy dog evaluation. My grandfather passed away a few days before, so we dropped everything and drove down to Los Angeles for his funeral. He was 97-years old and died painlessly in his sleep. The funeral was a peaceful event, where we could reminisce and reconnect with relatives that I hadn't seen for almost a decade.

Unfortunately, the next therapy dog class isn't until the end of January, so we have a long wait ahead of us. I was very disappointed, but it couldn't be helped. And after all, the additional time is a good thing, giving Cabana a chance to mature further and for us to keep practicing our teamwork.

While we were in Los Angeles, Cabana stayed with some good friends of ours, who were kind enough to accommodate us on short notice. Because their dog died a couple years ago, they'd been wanting a "dog fix". Through intermittent text messages, they kept me abreast of Cabana's activities--"Cabana is laying on Tim's feet," "Cabana found a comfy spot on Jan's yoga mat", etc. They reported that Cabana was very well-behaved, and I think she really enjoyed herself with them.

But of course, when we picked her up yesterday, she was very happy to see us. Here's Cabana on our usual morning walk today, as the fog rolled back to give us an absolutely gorgeous fall day. Wishing you a safe and happy Halloween!

Read more...

Sleeping Buddy

Cabana got some very fun birthday presents from her friends. But her favorite is this sock monkey from Maggie and Susan. Okay, maybe it's really MY favorite.

Unfortunately, Cabana likes to open and destuff her soft toys, so in order to keep the sock monkey intact, I'm only letting Cabana have it when she's napping. Any pugnacity results in removal of said sock monkey. Hey, someone's gotta protect the sock.

Things have been quiet around here for the past few weeks. But next week, Cabana and I go in for our therapy dog evaluations. I've been preparing Cabana by walking around with open umbrellas, lots of puppy handling, and "leave its" with strewn kibble on the floor. Cabana SEEMS ready, but who knows how she'll react in an unfamiliar environment. But however it goes, it will be a great learning experience, and I'm looking forward to it.

Read more...

Reading to a Dog

Last week, I mailed in our paperwork (forms, medical history) for the Paws for Reading program, which provides a motivational and non-judgmental venue for young children to improve their reading skills by reading to a friendly dog. Yesterday, I went to our local library to check out a Paws for Reading team at work. This lovely golden retriever Penny was the canine part of the reading team.

While the human part of the reading team got things ready, arranging the furniture, taking out a sign-up clipboard and other materials, several children lined up, waiting for their turn to read. The kids were so cute! I wondered, would kids line up and be so excited to read to a human? I doubt it. But the thought of reading to a snuggly dog (even if the dog doesn't seem to be listening) definitely excited them and motivated them.

Qualifications for being a therapy/reading dog include: accepting a friendly stranger, ignoring food on the floor, negotiating tight spaces, allowing their paws and tail to be handled/grabbed, being calm around medical equipment, quick recovery from loud noises, not reacting to "odd" characteristics (shuffling gait, canes or crutches, wearing unfamiliar clothes or paraphernalia). Dogs must also pass the Canine Good Citizen test, and only flat collars can be used (no metal collars or head collars).

I worried that Penny would be "perfect" and that I would feel discouraged about Cabana's ability to do the job. But somewhat to my relief, Penny was not perfect. She was as sweet as can be, but she licked a lot, licking me, the kids and her handler. She also tried to jump up on the chairs (without any kids sitting in them), and sadly, she wasn't really interested in what the kids were reading! In fact, she dozed off in the middle of a book. I thought the dogs would be trained to at least feign interest! But I guess that's too much to expect, and obviously, the kids didn't care that much whether the dog seemed to be listening or not.

So I left the library feeling encouraged. I haven't heard back from the program yet, but the next class doesn't start until the end of October, so I don't expect to hear anything for a while yet. Gives us a good amount of time to keep working on obedience and walking skills. I've been walking Cabana with just a flat collar lately, in preparation for the testing. She has been doing great, except when other dogs pass by--but we are allowed to use treats, even for the test, so I definitely won't be phasing those out just yet!

Read more...

Random Updates

After much coming and going of our family members in the past few weeks, it's comforting to have everyone under one roof again. With the new school year nipping at our heels, I'm hoping we'll all have a chance to catch our breath in these final weeks of summer vacation.

As for Cabana, she has been enjoying our cool summer. Temps have barely topped 80 degrees here--but I am sure we're in for a sweltering September and October. Below, Cabana found a softball in the grass last week, thankfully one that was not being currently used by softball players (she has been known to steal a ball in play a few times, much to my horror!).

The ball is way too big to fit comfortably in Cabana's mouth.

But it serves its purpose, since keepaway is the name of Cabana's favorite game. Keepaway is much more exciting to her than boring old fetch.


I feel like I don't get back to subjects of past posts, so I thought I'd give a few brief updates today.

Vizsla incident - Cabana seems pretty much back to normal after the scare with the Vizsla a few weeks ago. After being fairly convinced that Cabana had not been hurt but was barking/reacting for other reasons, about a week later, I found a dried scab maybe an inch long, on Cabana's side. I don't know why I hadn't been able to see the cut before, and by that time, it had healed completely. But it answered some questions I'd had. So she had been hurt, not badly, but maybe enough to make her flinch when being towel dried.

Shopping with Cabana - I appreciated everyone's input about taking dogs shopping. Overall, it seemed that blog readers are cautious about taking their pet dogs to stores, which is probably wise. One question that was raised was why we would want to take our dogs to stores. For me, the answer is that I still consider Cabana to be in training. I hope to get her into a therapy dog or reading buddy program--so the exposure and experience of being around strangers is important to me. In fact, I just turned in the paperwork for the Paws for Healing/Paws for Reading program. We will start class at the end of October!

Health issues - Several months ago, Cabana had some funny bumps on her paws. We thought they might be histiocytomas, which are benign tumors that are fairly common in the GDB population. They went away in a couple weeks and never caused any pain or further incident. I took Cabana to the vet last week for a routine check-up, and the doctor said Cabana looked great. I asked him about her weight (54.5 pounds) because I am now always paranoid that she's too plump. He said that her current weight is fine, but that she should not be allowed to get any bigger. Sigh. I try to be so careful about how much food/treats she gets, so I guess I will have to keep on being careful. I wish I could let her eat as much as she'd like! Must be a vicarious desire. I have more to say about food/treats, but since it's a mouthful, I'll save it for my next post.

Read more...