Being slightly self-indulgent here, but I thought some of you may be interested in updates on "Fenna," my mental health Assistance Dog (PTSD Service Dog), whom at this point in time is even yet to be formally in-training!
I was asked to bring her home yesterday afternoon, as her mum had stopped feeding the litter about a week ago, and it's become too much for the breeder to look after the eight pups with individual feeding and other needs. The poor lady was getting no sleep whatsoever!
So, I now have a five week old bundle of joy with razor sharp puppy teeth to look after.
She's incredibly intelligent, and has already picked up outside toileting, I've been advised by the trainer I will be using to establish a half hour cycle that just gets repeated non-stop; consisting of feeding, toileting/training, playtime and sleep. She has been tested for reactions to sudden noises and movement, responding with curiosity and not fear, she even passed the fetch test, where you scrunch up a paper ball, throw it about a metre away and see if she will get it and bring it at least part of the way back to you. Fenna brought it right back to me! She follows me around the yard, with little to no enticement, and comes when called.
According to the trainer, she's about a month ahead of what would be expected of a normal pup being checked for suitability of training as an Assistance Dog.
Last night she slept in a soft carry-case, next to me for the first part of the night, but after about the fourth cycle of taking her outside for the toilet she refused to settle back in, so she slept on the bed cuddled up with us for the remainder of the night. Getting up every forty minutes or so throughout the night is all new to me, I never had children of my own. Apparently, this should only last another few weeks, and she will then sleep longer and longer as she develops more control of her bladder.
Here's a few frames of her from when she first got back here yesterday evening, asleep on one of my t-shirts. The calm before the storm!
And she has accepted her little house as the place to sleep every time! This will make crate training really easy, both as a means of transporting her and having her sleep in it for the first few months.
I was asked to bring her home yesterday afternoon, as her mum had stopped feeding the litter about a week ago, and it's become too much for the breeder to look after the eight pups with individual feeding and other needs. The poor lady was getting no sleep whatsoever!
So, I now have a five week old bundle of joy with razor sharp puppy teeth to look after.
She's incredibly intelligent, and has already picked up outside toileting, I've been advised by the trainer I will be using to establish a half hour cycle that just gets repeated non-stop; consisting of feeding, toileting/training, playtime and sleep. She has been tested for reactions to sudden noises and movement, responding with curiosity and not fear, she even passed the fetch test, where you scrunch up a paper ball, throw it about a metre away and see if she will get it and bring it at least part of the way back to you. Fenna brought it right back to me! She follows me around the yard, with little to no enticement, and comes when called.
According to the trainer, she's about a month ahead of what would be expected of a normal pup being checked for suitability of training as an Assistance Dog.
Last night she slept in a soft carry-case, next to me for the first part of the night, but after about the fourth cycle of taking her outside for the toilet she refused to settle back in, so she slept on the bed cuddled up with us for the remainder of the night. Getting up every forty minutes or so throughout the night is all new to me, I never had children of my own. Apparently, this should only last another few weeks, and she will then sleep longer and longer as she develops more control of her bladder.
Here's a few frames of her from when she first got back here yesterday evening, asleep on one of my t-shirts. The calm before the storm!
And she has accepted her little house as the place to sleep every time! This will make crate training really easy, both as a means of transporting her and having her sleep in it for the first few months.
