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!

Distraction-Training, Day 2

Wow! I feel like each day is just so full of information and that we learn so much. I have also learned over the last 24 hours that we should have brought a third person! Cole is by far the "busiest" kid in the class. Most of the others will at least take breaks. Cole is constantly running around the room, through the middle of a demonstration, or just being himself-kind of crazy. Someone commented when he was sitting in a little chair, "He's sitting down!" I told her to not hold her breath, and that he would be up again soon...he was. It has been hard to pay attention to Cole, his seizure activity, the trainer, the dog, the others practicing, etc. We seem to be missing bits and pieces of info as we are switching off watching Cole, who mainly stays away from the training area. We should have brought another person to watch him while we both listened. Lesson learned. Anyone want a free trip to Ohio for two weeks to hang out with us at training?! We pay in warm, fuzzy feelings :) It is difficult, but we will figure it all out, I'm sure.
Sometimes I feel like I have a unique version of ADHD. My attention is bouncing from one thing to the next, and I miss things in between.
Where is Cole?
Listen to the trainer.
I sure like Slugger, oh-I need to correct that behavior.
Cole is over there.
I need to call the oxygen company.
What was that the trainer said about pressure on the leash?
Where are we going to have lunch? What is Cole going to eat.
I need to talk to the nursing agency.
Cole is jumping on the trampoline?! That is probably not a good idea.
Is that a seizure?
I hope these anti-biotics work, my mouth sure hurts.
So, I hold the leash like this...

and so on and so forth.
Mind you, all of this is in fast forward mode going a million miles a minute and is nothing new. It is probably why I am a great multi-tasker.
While all of my thoughts are fine and dandy and appropriate, it makes it hard to concentrate. Try being in my head when I am trying to go to sleep :)

It makes it easier to think about what is kind of going through Slugger's mind the last few days.
Who are these people?
Why are they in my house?
Why is that lady telling me what to do?
Where is my mom?
Who is this boy?
Hey, my friend is over there!
Why can't I have the ball?
Wow, he sure gives me lots of treats!
Why can't I play with my sister's bone?
What is this new car?
What does she want me to do now?!

We worked on distractions today with our dogs. We would place them in a sit or a down and then proceeded to graduate from walking around, to clapping, snapping, food, stepping over them, etc. with each different turn. If they broke the command, we corrected them and then continued the distractions. Slugger did awesome. I think that he already knows (like any kid) who he can get away with things and who he can't ;) Daddy can't help it that he has a soft heart! It is going to take some practice.We also worked on heel. Slugger did a great job. I can tell that his many months with the foster helped him to become a great, obedient dog.

I'll talk about the rest of the day in another post! This is getting kind of long...like I said, lots of information! :)

News Story - WLWT Cincinnati

Families Meet Service Dogs At Xenia Facility - Health News Story - WLWT Cincinnati
What a day! We even made the local news.

Love that Cole says, "I got treats!"