Done?

Blogging has been hit and miss for the last few months. Due that my readership is largely made of special needs moms and the random relative, I am sure that YOU understand...I am just not sure that I do!

I have been in a random state of flux for the last few weeks. For example, incredible joy at the good run we had with beating the tonic-clonic monster into submission and then flowing towards the depression of the harsh realization/reminder that Dravet is never going away. You really would think I would be used to this by now.

Even my attempt at humor with the OCD organization of my purse fell flat. I just can't seem to be witty lately.

The funk can't really be pinned onto a single event. It is just there. Bleh.

My drifting has led to sudden spurts of creativity, but nothing seems finished. I have a few posts in my blog attic (drafts) that are no where near publishing and that birthday present I was going to make for my sister just didn't even have the legs to get off of the ground.

However, it has also led to random bouts of cleaning out closets and cupboards, which is awesome, but at the most inopportune times. Like deciding to organize the pantry and my spice cupboard right before a birthday party. Who does that? No one is going to look inside and see if my jar of oregano is expired! I have thrown away bags and bags of broken toys, expired canned food and stained clothing. I can't really say that I am nesting, or spring cleaning. It just happens. My sanity is clearly questionable. Good thing I hang around a dog and a toddler :)

Speaking of birthday parties...Someday, maybe I will be cool enough to try and keep up with my friend, E. Right now, it is futile. Check out her daughter's mermaid party! I used to be the queen of theme parties, hosting and inviting over different friends and having a blast doing it. I admit, I am jealous of her creativity. That spark of mine is gone in this haze of cotton-filled numbness. Replaced with survival tactics.

Even the thought of undertaking a party is exhausting right now, especially when Cole could care less about them. SO-the party to celebrate Cole's four years on earth was extremely simple. The weekend before, we invited two families in the area who were in our class at 4 Paws For Ability and have siblings of Slugger's. We had a great time, even if it was nothing to photograph or blog/brag about. I will say this though, three golden retrievers in my living room, in a wrestling match, is quite a sight. We should have charged admission!

Any event has changed with our new perspective. Holidays are celebrated in minimal ways and there is way less pomp and circumstance than I am used to. On Cole's birthday I took the popcorn machine to his class and was the "cool mom" for five minutes while a group of eager pre-schoolers watched the miracle that is popping corn. That's it. Brian was out of town. Cole can't have cake. He did not even get the concept that the day was (supposed to be) about him. It can sometimes be depressing to the woman who thought she was going to have the coolest birthday parties ever for her kids. That Pintrest file, just sits there full of ideas that I am never really going to put to use in the near future.

However, someday I am going to have the fun parties again. Someday I will have the creative spark to write things that move other parents and make them smile. Someday I am going to deep clean my house on a schedule and not just when I feel like it is getting to the point of contamination possibilities. I still do the necessary stuff every Saturday, but things like washing walls-let's be honest, it just doesn't happen around here. Someday we will have friends. Maybe someday we can go on dinner dates and will read books that have nothing to do with genetics. We just keep telling ourselves that it won't be like this forever.

The other day, I had a "DONE DAY". You know, the one's where you are just done. Done with dealing with the nursing issues, done with insurance, done with trying to make ends meet and coming up far short even after trying to tighten every realm, and on and on. I was done with trying to figure out our next move with medication. Done with trying to be a detective and figure out if Cole was sick or just reaching his seizure threshold. I was done with money-we went without presents for Christmas, birthdays and our anniversary to help pay for Slugger. I was done with fighting for therapies. I have kept being turned down time and time again for Aquatic Physical Therapy, and when I finally got him a spot recently-I realized that I don't have the money to pay for it, even after all of the trying to make things minimal. I think that every mom has days where she is just "done". Whether they have a special needs child or not. Anyone can be "over" something or "done" with it.

I am done with a lot of stuff, but I am not done being a mom. I am not done fighting, I just want to take a hiatus. I'll snap back, just like I always do. I really don't have much choice there :) Am I the only one that has ever wished to vacate their life for just a few days? Probably not. A big portion is my attitude. Nothing is going to be simple, ever. I can not change that. I can change the way I think about it though and have some great examples to look to. I am not done being the primary caregiver for my child. I am lucky that I get to keep him at home. Some people do not have that option. I am not done with a lot of things. I can look at Cole and find strength when I did not think I had any left. He had an hour non-convulsive status seizure on Friday and stayed post-ictal for over 3 hours, continuing to have myoclonics and dropping O2 sats. Really, I had planned on taking an easy day since Brian had been out of town all week and I had been up all night for multiple nights, listening for any signs of seizure. Cole had to do his thing and make it interesting, thus ruining my plans for a relaxed couple of hours while he was at school. He is worth it though. I made it, and he made it too. Apparently, he is not done letting me know that he is the one who rules my life...and that is okay, because I am certain that I will never be "done" with him.

Friends In The News

Here is a great piece done by FOX13 in Salt Lake City, Utah, highlighting some of our friends from 4 Paws For Ability! If you keep your eyes open, you can see Slugger making a small cameo in each section with the class picture :)
Part1  
Part 2
 

Dog Shower

When trying to figure how best to approach letting other people get to know Slugger, we came up with an Open House idea.

It's kind of like a baby shower/welcome home/birthday party/educational opportunity all rolled up into one :) We invited all of the kids in Cole's class and their families, in case they have any questions or want to get the chance to meet this dog they have heard so much about. We also invited friends and neighbors that helped us with our fundraising and who have supported us in this adventure.

Here is a look at our adorable invitations.Isn't the backer just too cute for words? I am biased, I know.
Love the bow on the bone.

My good friend, also a Dravet mom, is SO talented. Check out her shop here! She can do anything. I've gotten custom stationery, Christmas cards, Baby Shower invites, name cards for parties and much more from her. Take the time to go and wander her etsy store...you WILL be impressed!

If you live locally and know anyone that would be interested in meeting Slugger or learning more about service dogs, just e-mail me. We want everyone to get the chance to meet him and to brag about how amazing 4 Paws for Ability is. You can bring your friends, special needs or not!

This truly has been like bringing another baby into our family. Hopefully everyone else is as excited as we are.

We Did It!-Graduation, Day 11

It seems going through the posts that I was at Ultimate Fighting Championship Camp or something...not Service Dog Training! I promise, this is not the norm. No one else had issues, I must be super special!

Brian took the Public Access test since I was on the injured roster. He and Slugger passed! The only worry was the food distraction test and Slugger almost gave in to temptation. However, he must have known that he was doing something important and resisted. Hooray!

Later that afternoon we all went back to 4 Paws and filled out the paperwork to take Slugger home with us. We promised to take good care of him. Then we had graduation! It was so crowded and noisy that I was sure Cole was going to have a melt down. Some of the other kids in the class just couldn't handle it.

This was our attempt at trying to get a picture of all of the dogs.Our dear friend Paula drove 4 hours just to be with us on this special day! We have not seen her since the Dravet conference last year and it was so nice to be able to hug each other. She also brought her lovely daughter. She kept Cole entertained during the madness with a new iPad app called "Paint My Wings". We were so grateful to her for coming. That is something that I love about my Dravet family, we truly share each other's victories and sorrows. We may not be able to physically be there in times of need, but I know that they are rooting for us...always! It was so, SO nice of Paula to come and spend time with us.We waited patiently and we were last to graduate! They finally presented Slugger and Cole as a certified working team. We got a fancy certificate and everything!Plus, we got to sign Cole and Slugger's names on the Wall of Fame!There are a lot of lives changed here.We were so sad to say good-bye to the staff at 4 Paws For Ability. There were many tears.

Here is Slugger with his first "Mom". She will always be a part of our family.Along with some special other people who will also be family. If you haven't guessed, we are always willing to adopt.Speaking of family, here are Slugger's litter mates that were in the class. We are so excited that his sister Samba and his brother Shaggy live close to us!If you have ever doubted that this is something you could undertake, I will just say to you-If I can do it, you can do it too! Contact 4 Paws today, or if you have the chance, help someone with their fundraiser. Our lives will be forever changed because of these people and their mission...and by Slugger, of course.

Parents Of The Year-Training, Day 9

We are kind of out of our element here. No specific routine. At home, the morning usually goes like this:
Brian wakes up, gets ready for work. Makes Cole's milk, puts it in fridge.
Cole wakes up for the first (or third) time, comes into Niki's bed.
Cole sleeps for another hour, Niki gets ready (if she's lucky).
Cole wakes again, Niki grabs milk gives Cole meds.
Cole watches the show of the day and drinks breakfast.
Niki gets Cole ready for school. Nurse comes, we go to school.
There are slight variations of this routine, but it is usually how we approach morning. Here, all sorts of versions have been happening. We have been waking up earlier, all together. No going back to sleep for anyone. Sometimes I have been giving meds, sometimes Brian. Sometimes I have been getting breakfast, sometimes Brian.

Today, we figured out that we forgot the meds completely. Awesome.

Cole was having a really hard time waking up this morning. We started at 7:00 am, and by 8:30, he still wasn't ready to get up. It seems like all of the kids have hit a wall today. They need routine and this has been anything but. So, in our commotion of trying to get him to wake and get ready, we forgot the morning dose.

He had a rough time at the center and we could not figure out why. Now we know after some process of elimination. Also, watch out grandma's you have been replaced! Cole has adopted a grandmother that is here with another little boy in our class :) I told her to take it as a compliment.Cole had a 12 minute tonic-clonic seizure just after our track at the park. Being outside was enough to just push his brain over the edge.Slugger didn't even have a chance to alert. He was so amped up about tracking and playing the game that he couldn't focus. Then, Cole and I were separated from him for about 15 minutes before the actual seizure, which is in his alert window (we think).We'll have another chance, but we are kicking ourselves about it. At least we know that the medication is helping a little! We wondered about Keppra. Yep, parents of the year...right here.His post-ictal phase was really rough. Without that barrier of Keppra to break through, the rescue meds became super strong. The seizure took Versed and Diastat to break. He was so irritable, it was awful. Lots of screaming, crying and demanding things. "I want this, I want that!" We would give it to him and he would just continue to ask for it.

We got to the mall for our last indoor practice (can't believe it!) and he had kind of mellowed out. We knew that it was not going to last long though, so we asked to go first. Slugger did two short, textbook tracks. We also worked on some obedience, but left early.Good thing. I know my child. I can't always predict what or when he is going to do something, but I knew that he was getting to the end of his rope.Not a moment too soon, we left with him screaming as we headed to the car. The whole way back to the hotel we heard things like, "I want to go home! I don't want to be in my car seat! I want my milk!" over and over and over at a very loud, high pitch. Always fun. Slugger wasn't even really into behavior disruption commands because Cole was just so out of control.

We came back and tried to coax him into taking a nap. That took about a half hour to actually get him in the bed without going ballistic. Once in there though, he crashed hard. After his nap, he was good to go, we went and met up with one of Brian's cousins that lives in the area. You never would have known that Cole had just been through a rotten day. He just cared about the tractors and old farm equipment around the dairy that we visited. Made this farm girl proud!This kid is tough as nails. It makes me feel a little better that he rebounds so well, but still-no awards are in my future.

True Colors-Training, Day 7

Cole and I actually stayed home this morning. Cole needed some rest and I had to catch up on some insurance, nursing, and other misc stuff. Plus, my whiplash from yesterday's track hurts like %&*#. The whole right side of my neck, shoulder and running down to my sciatic is paying me back for not holding my body the way I should have. A note to all of those getting tracking dogs in the future...hit the gym, NOW! I always knew that I needed to be strong to carry Cole around if he is seizing, but adding a strong tracking dog into the mix just ups the ante.

So, we gave Daddy some one on one training time with Slugger, uninterrupted. It seems every time he went out to practice, Cole would get in the way. They worked on tethering and behavior disruption some more and went on two short tracks. Slugger likes the game so much that he tracked the trainers just fine, even with removing Cole from the equation. That would have confused most dogs. The head trainer said that he is probably in the top 2% for tracking dogs that he has worked with.

We met up at the mall to work on some obedience, the first time tethering with Cole and to do our first indoor tracks. Cole was super overstimulated and had a small partial seizure. Then a couple of meltdowns. Slugger did awesome and started kiss, touch and nuzzle without being prompted. Cole even climbed into a small space where I couldn't fit and Slugger just slid right in there and licked Cole until he stopped and came out. AWESOME! The tethering is going okay. Cole just keeps darting and going back and forth and everyone is getting all tangled up in each other. I think that we are going to shorten the strap. Also, Slugger is a little more slow to obey since we put the gentle leader on for tethering and he is distracted. All he can think about in the beginning is getting it off. Still, I am so excited to be able to use it more.

Off of the tether, Cole showed his true colors. Giving out at the knees and throwing himself on the ground, running away, being obsessed with going on the train instead of trying to track, going into a restaurant and hiding under a table, etc. Brian and I were actually trying to put the tether strap on Slugger when he went into the restaurant and the trainer went in and fetched him out kicking and screaming. My favorite though, he climbed a ladder in the middle of a department store. An employee came up to me and started telling me, "He shouldn't do that, he might get hurt". You think? No offer of assistance or anything. It was obvious that I had a service dog in one hand and was trying to fetch Cole down with the other. Instead, he just tried to tell me what to do. Just another day in paradise :)

We also did 5 shorter inside tracks with Slugger. He got confused a couple of times. Once he got stuck in front of a display of blow-up Christmas lawn decorations. It was almost like he was thinking track, track, track, oh-this is different...what it is? Maybe I should check it out. So I had to take him back to where he left off and start again. As we continued to practice, he would get better and better. Getting to the point that he was back on his A game. However, he would always go up to the parent that was with Cole. We have to encourage him to find Cole and not mom or dad. Food....more food. This dog went through an entire bag of mini-begging strips at the mall just for motivation with tethering, the gentle leader and tracking. I think he is going to have a stomach ache tonight! I was just done by the time we got out of there. Taking Cole to the mall is always an adventure.

Tonight, we went to the home of a family in our class that lives locally. The dogs had a great time playing with each other. They all have been working hard and really haven't been able to run around.Cole stayed back to protect the candy while the other kids went out into the neighborhood to Trick Or Treat.The kids were so cute! It was so great to have some time outside of class to chat.I gave a small shout out on facebook, but I just wanted to thank Lexie, Hobo, Alfie, Starburst, Ani, Krypton, Sushi, Charlotte, Donut and their families for inspiring us-and to everyone else that we know who has gotten a service dog for their child. This experience has been so rewarding already. We hope that Cole has many wonderful years with Slugger.

Tricks With Treats-Day 6, Continued

Today we learned a little bit more about tricks that Slugger can do. My favorite is "Bang". I'll have to get a video. We all know by now that Slugger is totally motivated by food and treats. So, Halloween is an awesome holiday for him! He got lots of treats today when we were practicing all of his tricks. I am sure that he will be popular with the kids in Cole's pre-school class.

Tonight, after training, we had a Halloween party with all of the staff. Cole and Bug were quite a hit as the Pirate King and Captain Slugger. We practiced for two days with his hat, since he absolutely hates stuff on his head.Can't you just hear him think Seriously, Mom?

He kept it on really well though after all of our practice and they looked so cute! Brian of course, thinks that I am insane for making him wear it. Cole took his costume a little bit too literally and pilfered and plundered this treat bucket.Then he tried to share his treasure with Captain Slugger!Trick Or Treat!They had a small Trunk Or Treat for the kids. This was Cole's very first time ever Trick Or Treating for real. If you remember other Halloweens, it has just been too much for him. We went to two houses his first year, but he couldn't eat anything. The last two years (remember the chicken and the Scuba Diver?) were just too overstimulating. Plus, he can't have candy. Well, he shouldn't have candy. Now that he is off of the diet, this rule is not quite so strict, so Daddy gave him a little piece of the treasure.Here is what Cole thought about Halloween!
Pretty exciting.

There were awesome costumes in our class. So many, that I had to make a slideshow! I even missed a few really good ones. Like Shaggy the dog being Scooby Doo and his boy being "Shaggy". There was also a UPS man and the UPS truck. I will try and get the other kids pictures tomorrow.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

It has been SO much fun to be here during a holiday. It gives us an excuse to get together after class and just adds another level of excitement.Happy Howl-oween! From our Favorite Houdini Howler and the peg leg Pirate King (you think that I would have planned it, but I actually bought the costumes a couple of months ago!)

The Head Snap-Training, Day 6

We were so tired yesterday, that this is a little late!You might have noticed in the tracking videos that the trainer keeps mentioning to look for a head snap...Well, there was a big head snap today-MINE! I was doing fairly well trying to hold on, bend my knees, lean back, etc during my track, but there was one big lunge where I actually heard my neck crack :) Both of my feet left the ground, but thank goodness I didn't faceplant! Don't worry, I'm sure it will happen eventually. Slugger is one strong boy, who loves to track. He did really well on both. Brian has started to learn about slowing down, so that Slugger doesn't overshoot the scent. Um, that won't be a problem for me. When Brian is tracking, they definitely get there faster and in one piece. Hey, I can't be a foot taller, even in my mind!

We learned more about hand signals, commands for behavior disruption (love this) and practiced tethering for the first time.Here is Slugger resisting the pull on the tether and even not going for his favorite treats that I have in my hand. I think that this is one of the skills that I am most excited about! It seems that with one hand on Slugger, I have not been able to get to Cole as fast. He knows this, so he has ran out in the street multiple times in the last few days. I can't wait until we can hook them together, I can put Slugger in a down, and Cole can't really go anywhere while I am trying to do something like pay for groceries, or get something out of the car. Hooray! Cole has started taking to dragging Slugger around (with supervision, so neither of them get hurt).Slugger just complies and follows him! Now, Cole just doesn't know that the tables are going to be turned :) I think he will get used to it eventually, just like his cast.

We talked more about seizure alert. Slugger has a really tough job, since Cole pretty much smells like a seizure all of the time. He has not been sniffing him up and down like he did in the beginning, because he has just started to get used to it. We are in that place where we want him to have as many big ones as possible, so Slugger can tell the difference. It is just going to take time.

Beat Up and Bruised-Training, Day 5

I swear you need a pair of steel toed boots and a hard hat to be around kids with special needs!

Here is the short list from today-Cole kicked me with his cast. A teenage boy was playing with a wheelchair they use for training and ran over my feet, splitting the toenail on my big toe in half (this is on the other foot. The left one was split by a kid in Cole's class crunching it). I have a gigantic burn on my hand from Slugger pulling so hard across it with a leather leash that it took off the skin. My legs are sore after being dragged around by a dog that weighs just about as much as I do. After a week of being on the road, eating bad food, being on antibiotics for a tooth infection and attending training, is it any wonder that I have a massive headache that is threatening to become a migraine? :)

Brian actually got to work with Slugger a little today, after being out yesterday.Cole was always one step behind...or beside, or in front of.

Basically, he was in every one's space...including the already over-crowded cubby under the stairs!We worked on heeling with shopping carts, going up and down stairs and more place.After some class work we went on two tracks. This time, just one parent went with Cole...no trainer. Slugger did okay on his first track without the trainer there. It definitely was not as fast as usual, but we're talking about Slugger here! :) He still packs a punch and bolts really quick. I actually was holding the flexi leash, so sorry...no video. I was holding on for dear life with both hands! The head trainer who was running with me, just kept telling me to act just like I was water skiing. Bend my knees, lean back and put tension on the leash. Um, I was! At least on skis, you can dig you heels into something solid. I am thrilled that I did not face plant! This dog gets SO excited about tracking. He whines and cries, just wanting to play the game. So when he gets a chance, he's off like lightning! I had both hands on the flexi, with them pulled into my stomach, my knees bent and leaning back...and he still was taking me everywhere :) I'm sure it was comical to watch me being flung around. Brian did the next track while I hid with Cole. He came in winded, but said, "That was awesome!" Such a guy. The trainer that was running with him, came in totally breathless a few minutes later. She said that she wished she had longer legs so she could keep up! I reminded Brian that his legs and arms are longer and he weighs more than me (just by a little though). He had an easier time. All in all, Slugger did awesome. King of Tracking!

We went to a restaurant for lunch after and it was night and day with the gentle leader! He hates it, but I think I'm in love! We went back to the center and talked about things like grooming, vet care and appropriate foods and toys. Slugger was quite bored with it all after tracking.A little boy in our class asked me if he could trade dogs. He wants Slugger now :)He was loving the attention from two dogs at once.

We went to the grocery store after class. Once again, the gentle leader had transformed Slugger. He was an angel dog! Here is a closer look at it It's not a muzzle, just a head collar, similar to a horse's halter. It just gives the handler a little bit better control. You actually can barely see it, unless you are really looking for it, because it just blends in with his fur.

We are eating in tonight and hoping for an early bedtime. Brian has to go to the store and try to get my phone resurrected. It has decided to give up, and I have only had it for two weeks! I can't even make a call on it. I'm actually glad that we are not home, it snowed today. Being at camp with our Dravet friends would be awesome, but this is a life-changing experience. Just tiring. We'll send Daddy on errands. Slugger, Cole and I will hang out here and watch Maters Tall Tales for the umpteenth million time :)

Continuation of Craziness-Training, Day 4

We tracked this morning at a different park. Cole was the first one in the first group. Slugger did excellent, especially for his first time tracking more than one person. I went with Cole and the trainer, so there were actually three people to smell instead of the usual one. The head trainer called it a text book track and compared him to a bloodhound! That's our boy! Here is a video. He hesitated just a moment because we were hiding behind an asphalt machine and the head trainer said that all of the chemicals probably confused him-but just for a second.

Hear him whining? He is so excited to play the game!

The reason that we had to be the first ones in the first group is that Cole and Brian actually spent the day in Cincinnati, about an hour away from here. WHY? Well, Cole got his cast wet, again. This is the second time that we have had to re-cast. The children's hospital would not allow us to go to their orthopedics office, stating liability because we were not one of their patients. Huh? We explained our situation, was all ready to fax over records from our ortho, and they still made us go through the ER. So, I stayed with Slugger after the track and Brian took Cole to Cincinnati.It was a long day for everyone.We were actually surprised that Cole did not have a seizure. Today was his first day outside in a long time, plus it was cold. Then he was at a hospital, one of his least favorite places on earth, and in the car for over 3 hours. We also got something that was similar to alert behavior from Slugger. So, for about a half hour, we watched Cole like a hawk. Still, no seizure. We are back in that weird place again. EEG's and training seizure alert dogs are the only reason I can think of as wanting your child to have a seizure. It is the most ironic, strange feeling ever.

Slugger hates his harness and keeps trying to roll to take it off. It's just something that he is going to have to get used to. In his mind, it should only be used for tracking :) Sorry dude, you have to wear the high heels to impress the boss! We have been telling the kids in Cole's class that it is his uniform, just like a fireman has to wear for his job. Slugger had better get used to it quick, so I can show the other kids!

Slugger and I went to the mall with the rest of our class, the first real public place we have been together. I have taken him around the hotel, but this was our maiden voyage outside of the training center.He did reasonably well. He definitely needed more correction than normal. To the point that the trainer wants him to use a gentle leader in public. I thought he hated his harness, it is nothing compared to the gentle leader. He compares it to the cone of shame. Keeps trying to paw it off, rubbing it against my leg, rubbing it against a chair...he hates it. He sure acts better with it on though. Hopefully, we only have to use it for a couple of months until he starts really getting used to public work.We worked on under, sit, down and heel in the mall. I also took Slugger up and down the stairs (he did AWESOME) and in the elevator. What he did not do so great with was the people. I was constantly hearing, What a pretty dog! Oh, look-a dog! He looks like a Slugger, etc." Slugger loves praise and kept trying to go over to people who were talking to him. He also has this new habit of shoving his head and saying hello into someones private area. Yep, that's MY dog. Sorry ma'am. I was standing in line waiting to pay for some soap and he also happened to decide to go in between someones legs, practically lifting her off the floor as he went through. Yep, he's mine! He jumped up on the built in furniture at the play area and ate food off of the floor. He's a lot like Cole, looks cute and innocent, but can be super sneaky and end up getting in trouble. I have the feeling that we are really going to need to practice in the mall a lot before our public access test, since that is where it is given.

We took Slugger to a restaurant with us tonight, to practice distractions and obedience. I chose a place that had peanuts on the floor-dumb move, Nik! He also did his nice hello to our waitress, great. Overall though, the place smelled like steak, had food on the floor and was really loud. He didn't bark or go ballistic, so I consider it great practice.

We'll keep working hard, hopefully tomorrow is a little more quiet.

Track Attack-Training, Day 3

Today we did our first track with Slugger at a park. He only tracked the trainer, since it was cold and raining outside. After yesterday, and last week at school, I didn't want to push my luck on the first time. Taking Cole out would have possibly landed us into the hospital in the next 48 hours. Not worth it.

We will get plenty of other opportunity to work with Slugger and Cole in the next few days. Tomorrow, we will try again with him.

I actually went on a track with another dog in our class, Slugger's sister. Brian went with Slugger and I watched from the car. It was so fascinating to watch how much Slugger loves it.

Going back to what I said yesterday, the dogs do not realize that their child is in danger or missing. Everything is a game. Obviously, Slugger LOVES this game. He gets super excited and antsy before they let him start, and then he just takes off! He's really good at finding the trainer, because that is the only person he has been tracking since the beginning. Slowly, we will wean him off of the trainer to just Cole by having him hide with her. It made me so grateful that when Cole does slip away, as he is prone to doing, we can find him quick...instead of an hour later when Search and Rescue can show up.

We had an incredible lecture on the logistics of tracking. We learned about things like a scent cone, wind direction affecting scent patterns, temperature of skin cells and a bunch of other things that I never thought would have to occupy space in my memory :)

Here is a video of Slugger's track.
He was SO fast!

We also learned about the commands Jump, Place, Lap and Over. We reviewed heel, and everything else we have learned so far. I have gotten to the point with Slugger that I can drop the leash, walk away and he will stay! Impressive :)Really, he is already fully trained, this training is more for me to learn how to use him and for him to get used to my voice and style. He already knows everything, it's just practice for him.Don't you love his "Spread Eagle"?

Cole is getting more and more comfortable in this environment, so he has no qualms with walking right through the middle of the demonstration or going up to people and asking them to do stuff for him. I can't count how many times he interrupted the trainer or others. Good thing all of these people understand that it is not just because I must be a horrible parent. He really does have a disability that affects his attention span and his understanding of social norms.Like this, in the middle of the room, while the training is trying to teach an important concept, bringing his toys out and calling to everyone to "Look at me! This is my truck!"These two are going to get into so much mischief together. Cole has already decided that he likes to feed Slugger out of a bowl with a spoon, like a baby. Oy!Their bond is getting better. It is hard to have Cole by him in class, because there are WAY too many other cool things going on in Cole's mind. At the hotel though, with nothing else around, he is pretty fascinated with him. Now we just need to get Slugger to want to lay with him, and not me. Silly dog kept trying to get in bed with me last night! We'll have to see what happens tonight :)

Earning His Keep...Or, The Scent Of Seizures

I really feel like we have not had a lot of opportunity to talk to the other families. As I mentioned in the last post, Cole is kind of high maintenance, no surprise there. We also are the last ones to leave for lunch due to all of our paraphernalia that we cart around for our mobile ER. So, we don't end up eating with anyone else. Which is probably a good thing, since Cole has hardly had a square meal since we left home. Who wants to eat when there are so many other distractions? Having other kids around would probably add to this.

So, after class today I took Slugger outside to socialize a little bit with his friends and I could talk for a minute with a couple of the other parents before we headed back to the hotel. I was having a conversation about Dravet Syndrome with another parent when I saw a staff member running towards us yelling, "We need Slugger!". He then told me that Cole was inside having a seizure.

We had talked in class about having everything be a game for the dogs. They don't really understand the serious nature of their jobs. They have no idea that they are service dogs, or that their child is missing while they are tracking, or a seizure is life-threatening. So, I tried to hype it up and kept telling Slugger, "Let's go buddy! Let's go find your boy! Come on, good job buddy!" as we ran to the center.

Cole was seizing on the couch. Slugger kind of went up and checked it out, but was more interested in other things and probably the tense feeling in the room. We could not expect him to do everything picture perfect, like directing a movie the first time. You constantly have to make adjustments. I actually made a mistake by running in with him.

Slugger had previously been wrestling with the other dogs and then with his run into the training area, he was breathing really hard. The trainer compared it to running up to someone who just finished a marathon and shoving something under their nose saying, "Smell that!" It is impossible to smell well with your mouth open. Of course, he was panting and breathing hard after all of his activity and he could not sniff Cole up and down like he normally would have. He did not do intense sniffing, or bark.However, we do know that Slugger has the potential and capability to alert. He alerted to a little boy next to us (with sniffing and licking), who was having seizures while sleeping. Also, when Brian took him outside for a potty break he went over to a bush and was going crazy. Brian looked inside and saw a leftover seizure shirt, from a training that was going on with another group of dogs earlier in the day. Slugger had found the shirt in the bush and was behaving appropriately, even though no one had said anything about it.

We actually think that he possibly alerted to Cole's seizure. He was over by me, Cole was sitting on the stairs playing on the iPad. I had him in a down, but he jumped up and went over to Cole and started to smell him all over, especially his head and ear. We encouraged the behavior, because of bonding, but did not see it as alerting. He was acting a little different than when he had alerted to our neighbor. We happened to grab a picture.About 20-30 minutes later is when Cole had his seizure. It lasted probably around 10 minutes and was a milder tonic-clonic. We did have Slugger get up on the couch with him while he was post-ictal.The body's chemistry changes during a seizure. Sometimes, dogs can alert up to a couple of hours before. Hopefully, we will get to the point where Slugger understands Cole's cues, and we understand his. All in all though, I am grateful that it happened at 4 Paws and that the trainers were still there to walk us through it. I had a lot of questions.

Cole was already coming out of it by the time we pulled out of 4 Paws. He was asking for Incredibles, telling us what to do and drinking his milk.It seems that Slugger was totally interested in the iPad playing movies in the car. Bug (one of his nicknames) is going to have to become a Disney fan, quick.We practiced more when we finally got home. This is just as much work as I thought it was going to be.

Cole has had a great time tonight at the hotel doing things including trying to brush Slugger's teeth with Daddy's electric toothbrush and riding Slugger as he jumped off of the bed (ouch)! Slugger was great and started to kiss and comfort him when he was crying.He talks to him and wants to know exactly where he is. I think that the bonding is going well! We'll make certain that Slugger doesn't become lazy and keeps working hard ;) Our life is an adventure!