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Training Toby is moving!

Training Toby is moving to Terra Toby. Come and visit!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Beautiful New Collar for Therapy Dog Visits

I'm so excited about my most recent purchase for Toby!

From the See Beautiful website - a wonderful See Beautiful - We Do dog tag!

It will go on with just his "I Am A Therapy Dog" tag



And from Sugar's Paw House - a lovely turquoise Hawaiian floral print collar!




This will be just for Therapy Dog visits, a tribute to the beauty I hope Toby will bring to people's day. 

Note I: If you think Toby looks sullen, you would be right. He was 1 foot from the door with his leash on for a walk when the skies opened up. Ted even opened the back door so he could see the downpour for himself, but he was mad at us anyway!
Of course, later he did get a long walk.
Note II: Just to be clear, this is not an ad, review, sponsored or anything. Just a post about a collar, folks.
Posted by at 2:40 PM 7 comments

Beautiful New Collar for Therapy Dog Visits

I'm so excited about my most recent purchase for Toby!

From the See Beautiful website - a wonderful See Beautiful - We Do dog tag!

It will go on with just his "I Am A Therapy Dog" tag



And from Sugar's Paw House - a lovely turquoise Hawaiian floral print collar!




 This will be just for Therapy Dog visits, a tribute to the beauty I hope Toby will bring to people's day. 

 Note I: If you think Toby looks sullen, you would be right. He was 1 foot from the door with his leash on for a walk when the skies opened up. Ted even opened the back door so he could see the downpour for himself, but he was mad at us anyway!
Of course, later he did get a long walk.
Note II: Just to be clear, this is not an ad, review, sponsored or anything. Just a post about a collar, folks.
Posted by at 2:40 PM 7 comments

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Third and Final Partnered Therapy Dog Visit...

...was two days ago. From now on, Toby and I will visit on our own.
The last two visits went better than the first one. I was more relaxed (though still nervous). The highlight on Tuesday for me - a woman in street clothes crossed the hall to pet Toby, then looked me in the eye and said, "That just made my whole day!" Wow, can it get any better than that?
This is what we bring on a therapy dog visit: hand sanitizer, wipes, TDI paperwork, and Toby's ID and bandana.

For visit #2 we were partnered with the cutest Bichon Frise! He was adorable and I saw how great having a small dog is for pet therapy. His handler could just place him in the bed next to a patient and he snuggled right in like he could stay there all day! Toby and Bouncer were friends instantly too, and took "sniff breaks" periodically to get acquainted. Toby still pulls a lot at the hospital and I'm weighing whether to just work harder on his loose leash walking, or buy a front clip harness just for the hospital. The trouble is that at home it's much easier to stop the pulling. I've registered for an Advanced Obedience class with Mr. Dean to see if that will help get the pulling under control, but there may not be enough students enrolled to have the class. Two other factors made this a more successful visit - we had been in all of the visited areas before, and the visit was exactly one hour long. It was still about 5 minutes longer than Toby wanted to stay, but definitely one hour is his limit right now. 

You wouldn't think that a dog could get tired from being petted and praised. One of the handlers on visit #3 said her dog absolutely can't do more than an hour, and she reminded me that between the unfamiliar smells, constant interaction with strangers of all ages, genders, and health conditions (including cancer), and even walking on the slippery floors, pet therapy is exhausting for the pets. Toby also gets very thirsty. On Tuesday's visit one of the volunteers thoughtfully filled a portable dish with water from the drinking fountains for the dogs. The volunteer office also has a large dog dish attached to a big water bottle sitting on the floor for the therapy dogs. 
A well-deserved rest!

On visit #3, we accompanied two other therapy dogs. Heidi is Lobo's big sister. Lobo is the Keeshond we partnered for our first visit. Heidi is an older girl and definitely the queen of the dogs at the hospital. She made sure she got first dibs on all the doorways, elevator, and whatever loving was at hand! She was a big fluff ball and ridiculously cute, so she didn't have to work too hard to get lots of attention! Ben, a handsome old cocker spaniel, also walked with us. Ben was charismatic, with the persona of a Southern gentleman of the old school. You could almost see him in a little black string tie a la Col. Sanders. It was fun just to watch the two therapy veterans do their stuff. In time I hope Toby will become more patient and willing to stay with one person for several minutes. That said, for such a young and inexperienced dog I think he's doing pretty well.

What have I (equally inexperienced, but alas, not so young) learned from these three partnered visits?

  • I'm getting better at reading the body language that says "no thanks!"
  • Often the dog is just the introduction. People often need a chance to talk, and petting the dog is a safe way to start a conversation. Lots of tact and active listening is required.
  • Do what's comfortable. I don't happen to like visiting the patient floors without a specific request, so we probably won't do as much of that. And - one hour is max, maybe even 45 minutes at first.
  • Hospital staff need the visits as much if not more than patients and family members! Stress relief?
Next week Toby and I will be on our own. Should be interesting :)
Posted by at 12:25 PM 10 comments

Third and Final Partnered Therapy Dog Visit...

...was two days ago. From now on, Toby and I will visit on our own.
The last two visits went better than the first one. I was more relaxed (though still nervous). The highlight on Tuesday for me - a woman in street clothes crossed the hall to pet Toby, then looked me in the eye and said, "That just made my whole day!" Wow, can it get any better than that?
This is what we bring on a therapy dog visit: hand sanitizer, wipes, TDI paperwork, and Toby's ID and bandana.

 For visit #2 we were partnered with the cutest Bichon Frise! He was adorable and I saw how great having a small dog is for pet therapy. His handler could just place him in the bed next to a patient and he snuggled right in like he could stay there all day! Toby and Bouncer were friends instantly too, and took "sniff breaks" periodically to get acquainted. Toby still pulls a lot at the hospital and I'm weighing whether to just work harder on his loose leash walking, or buy a front clip harness just for the hospital. The trouble is that at home it's much easier to stop the pulling. I've registered for an Advanced Obedience class with Mr. Dean to see if that will help get the pulling under control, but there may not be enough students enrolled to have the class. Two other factors made this a more successful visit - we had been in all of the visited areas before, and the visit was exactly one hour long. It was still about 5 minutes longer than Toby wanted to stay, but definitely one hour is his limit right now. 

 You wouldn't think that a dog could get tired from being petted and praised. One of the handlers on visit #3 said her dog absolutely can't do more than an hour, and she reminded me that between the unfamiliar smells, constant interaction with strangers of all ages, genders, and health conditions (including cancer), and even walking on the slippery floors, pet therapy is exhausting for the pets. Toby also gets very thirsty. On Tuesday's visit one of the volunteers thoughtfully filled a portable dish with water from the drinking fountains for the dogs. The volunteer office also has a large dog dish attached to a big water bottle sitting on the floor for the therapy dogs. 
A well-deserved rest!

 On visit #3, we accompanied two other therapy dogs. Heidi is Lobo's big sister. Lobo is the Keeshond we partnered for our first visit. Heidi is an older girl and definitely the queen of the dogs at the hospital. She made sure she got first dibs on all the doorways, elevator, and whatever loving was at hand! She was a big fluff ball and ridiculously cute, so she didn't have to work too hard to get lots of attention! Ben, a handsome old cocker spaniel, also walked with us. Ben was charismatic, with the persona of a Southern gentleman of the old school. You could almost see him in a little black string tie a la Col. Sanders. It was fun just to watch the two therapy veterans do their stuff. In time I hope Toby will become more patient and willing to stay with one person for several minutes. That said, for such a young and inexperienced dog I think he's doing pretty well.

 What have I (equally inexperienced, but alas, not so young) learned from these three partnered visits?

  • I'm getting better at reading the body language that says "no thanks!"
  • Often the dog is just the introduction. People often need a chance to talk, and petting the dog is a safe way to start a conversation. Lots of tact and active listening is required.
  • Do what's comfortable. I don't happen to like visiting the patient floors without a specific request, so we probably won't do as much of that. And - one hour is max, maybe even 45 minutes at first.
  • Hospital staff need the visits as much if not more than patients and family members! Stress relief?
Next week Toby and I will be on our own. Should be interesting :)
Posted by at 12:25 PM 10 comments

Monday, August 20, 2012

Monday Mischief With a Friend!

Our grandson came to visit this weekend for a little mischief with Toby...
"Hi Toby! Let's go find some mischief!"

"None here on the deck. Let's check the gazebo!"

"Now, you be real quiet, doggie. I'll sneak you in."

"Go,go,go! I'll keep watch, little buddy!"

"Shucks, no mischief here either. Let's see if we can find some in the house."

"Aha! Mischief!"

"You're the best partner in mischief ever!"
"One for you, doggie,
One for me.
Two for me, doggie,
Two for you.
Three for you, doggie,
Oopsie, dropped one...
Four for you, doggie...


Seen in Daily Dog Challenge - #292, "With a Friend"
Posted by at 9:12 AM 21 comments

Monday Mischief With a Friend!

Our grandson came to visit this weekend for a little mischief with Toby...
"Hi Toby! Let's go find some mischief!"

"None here on the deck. Let's check the gazebo!"

"Now, you be real quiet, doggie. I'll sneak you in."

"Go,go,go! I'll keep watch, little buddy!"

"Shucks, no mischief here either. Let's see if we can find some in the house."

"Aha! Mischief!"

"You're the best partner in mischief ever!"
"One for you, doggie,
One for me.
Two for me, doggie,
Two for you.
Three for you, doggie,
Oopsie, dropped one...
Four for you, doggie...


Seen in Daily Dog Challenge - #292, "With a Friend"
Posted by at 9:12 AM 21 comments

Monday, August 13, 2012

Toby Reveals the Real Mischief Maker

What to post for Monday Mischief? Toby has been so good (and I helped him by thoughtfully hiding the steak for supper on top of the refrigerator yesterday). Really, no mischief to speak of.  I may have to change my blog title if this keeps up.

However if Toby could post about "mischief" from his point of view, I think he would have a lot to say.
Here's Toby's  list of his owner's mischief:
"They could at least have waited until Christmas!"

1. New camera and computer (first Mac ever!!!) in the same week is just mischievous. I get my walk and dinner and otherwise feel ignored in preference to a big glowing screen. WOOF to that.
"She didn't leave me much shredding to do!"

2. Mom was kind enough to buy me a new huge squeaky toy that looks like a squirrel after a serious nuclear power plant accident. Then, after I got all the squeakers out so it was perfect, she tried to play tug with me and it ripped in half the long way. So now it's just ruined.

3. She admitted already about hiding the steak meat when she went upstairs to help Ted learn how to turn on that insufferable new computer.

4. She took me on 3 errands today and actually left me in the car at the post office. I don't care that she was only gone 2 minutes and remembered to open the windows. I howled EXTRA loud. I hope she was ashamed of herself.

The scene of the crime.
"Ah, the good old days."

5. The bed next to the computer that I used to sleep on while Mom stared at the big glowing screen? Gone. They moved it to a different room after they put a new floor in this weekend. How thoughtless can people be?

However I still love my people and try to remember that I have only been training them for less than 2 years. I keep to the doggie code of patience and steadfast love. I remind them as gently as possible that I am their best and most loyal friend. That's me - always trying to set a good example.
Hmmm...  how to reach the top of the fridge....
Posted by at 1:59 PM 11 comments
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