We've got the dog - Now What?

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, Charlie is currently in training to become a fully certified public access service animal.   What that means is that Charlie is still very much a puppy with lots of puppy behavior to overcome and we're participating in a large part of his training.

When Patty from North Star first suggested that Charlie might come live with us during this part of his training, I have to admit that I panicked.  I've never had a puppy nor have I ever endeavored to train an animal so I feared that I'd subject Charlie to all sorts of mis-steps and faux paws (tee hee) which would ultimately un-do some of the great work accomplished by Judy the NJ puppy trainer.   (See my first post for more on Judy.)

Patty sensed my anxiety and assured me that we'd get as much support as we could possibly need, both from the folks at North Star and from a local trainer.  I'm happy to report that she followed through on her assurances.

Shortly before Charlie arrived, Patty arranged for us to work with Wendy Krehbiel of Tell-a-Tail dog training based in Livermore, CA.  Wendy has been great and extremely accommodating.  In fact, when we first spoke on the phone I mentioned to her that I wasn't certain how Tim would react to having a dog in the house.  Wendy immediately proposed a trial visit with one of her own golden retrievers a few days before Charlie was to arrive.  It was a great idea and served to be the perfect initiation for Tim.  Check out this pic of Tim with Wendy's Zachary. 

Then, a mere three days later, Wendy came by on the very day that Charlie arrived just to make sure we had some essentials down.  The first few days were a little nerve wracking -  but with some basic advice from Wendy, and some encouragement from the North Star team, Charlie managed things like a champ.

Since that first weekend, Wendy has met me weekly, both at home and out in public, for hands on training sessions with Charlie.  It's been incredibly productive and we've been able to make great progress on a variety of commands.  I've even got him "doing his business" in a designated area in our yard and we're getting close to getting him to pee on command only.  (It's pretty amazing.)  We're also enrolled in one of Wendy's Family Dog group training sessions run through the Pleasanton Parks and Recreation department.

Wendy's approach is clinical.   She has a solid background in basic Skinner psychology which is as effective in training animals as it is with kids.  In addition, she has made herself completely available to us, often sending e-mails or calling just to check in to see how things are going.   I get the sense that she's as excited about training Charlie (and us) as we are about having Charlie.

Perhaps the most important aspect about Wendy is her eagerness to work with my autistic kid.  She was very candid about her level of experience with special needs kids and earnestly seeks out my advice on the best manner to engage Tim.  She's got lots of ideas about ways to teach Tim to work with Charlie and ways to teach Charlie to serve Tim.  Her attitude and commitment have given us a great deal of confidence.

Of course, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the constant support that we get from the folks at North Star.  I routinely swap e-mails with several of the members of the North Star team and they often provide us with training suggestions or other information specific to Charlie.   In addition, the Director of the foundation is coming for a placement visit next month to check in and make sure things are going well.  To date, we really feel as though this whole dog thing has been a very collaborative and positive experience thanks to all of the folks who have been working so diligently with us.