I's Been A Busy, Busy Girl!

Hello! Welcome back to my blog! How've ya been? I's been a busy, busy girl!
Let's see.... this Sunday we went to the farm, and I got to see my bunny friends (oh, they's so cute!), play with my doggie friends, and ran around until I was so tired I just couldn't run anymore!
On our way home, Mommy stopped at WaWa...hers said she needed a nice cup of coffee for the long drive home. So we went inside, and guess what?! I heard a squeeky! That's right! I couldn't figure out where it was comin from, though, cause Mommy didn't have MY squeeky with her. It got closer, and closer and soon I saw where it was comin from----a little kid's feet!
At first, I thought that kid was a giant squeeky! Mommy told me that the squeeky was comin from his shoes... I couldn't believe it! I sooo wanted to go check out the squeekies close up, but Mommy said I couldn't cause the kid's family didn't look like they liked dogs very much, and the fact that I was lookin at the kid like he was a giant sqeeky toy probably didn't help matters, and I should just be good and not try to go "investigate"
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On Monday, Mom took me and the kid to the mall so that I could have a trainin session again. I'm gettin ready to take one of my certification tests really soon, and since I had that little "woof" incident a few weeks ago, Mom's working really hard to correct it...
So back to the mall and food court; where Mom got the kid a smoothie to enjoy while I practiced lying under the table while all sorts of people wandered by...I was a perfect lady---thank you very much!
Guess what?! After the food court, wes got to go to Build A Bear! And guess what?! They had a little stuffed doggie dressed in an assistance dog cape---just like I wear! The funny thing was that the doggie they used as a demo was the exact one that the kid has.... so you know we just HAD to get a cape for "Balto"! Kid thought that was great! We had such a good time goin through all the outfits and stuff; thinkin about how cute our little Gracie would look in a string bikini and sunglasses
Before we left, Mommy took my picture in front of the wall of build a bears, and lots of people gathered to see me with my new "friends"

So then it was time to leave, cause Mommy's brain started actin up and hers couldn't take the noises in the mall anymore. She told the kid that we was going to have dinner at her favorite restaurant...Bob's Heaven
Well,, if you remember from my previous posts, that the last time I was there, I "woofed" at the hostess when she startled me (cause I was takin a snoozie). Since then, Mommy has been working very, very hard trying to correct my behavior...and guess what?! My Mommy's so smart! Hers knew that having strangers come up to our table where my kid and Mommy was made me nervous---after all, it IS my job to keep them safe, right!? (oh, sorry Mom I forgot...) Mom reminded me that I'm only supposed to protect her when she says so...not on my own...I keep forgetting dat!
So anyway.... we're in the restaurant, and Mommy taught me how to behave when people walk up to our table. I used to think dat peoples comin up to us was a bad thing, so Mommy wanted to show me that it was a GOOD thing. So Mommy slipped me a yummy treat every time that someone came up to our table (YUM!). By the time we left, I realized that strangers meant good things! My Mommy loves me so much, and hers wants me to do good, and figures out ways to help me "win" all my games.... I really love bein her service dog!
Guess what? I got through the entire meal and didn't even think about woofin at nobody! Guess what else!? I got my squeeky thrown to me when we got back outside!! Oh, I just LOVE my squeeky!
Today was my "off" day. Mommy wanted to get some cleanin done. Well, me and Dawson decided to "help" too! Dawson would pick up something and hand it to Mommy and well, I didn't want to be outdone, so I got hers somethin else and brought it to her, then Dawson did, then I did; and pretty soon, Mommy was laughin so hard that hers was cryin! At first we thought wes did somethin bad, but then we realized that hers was cryin cause hers thought wes was funny.
Well, it's about time for me to get off the 'puter cause Mommy has to help Dawson with his upcomin book. Check back in with me soon; I'll have more stories to tell ya!
---Nadja

www.canineandabled.com

Happy Birfday, America!

Hiya! Welcome back to my blog...so nice to "see" you again ;-)

Guess what?! Today's America's birfday! Happy Birfday, America!!!

I got to have a GREAT training day today! I even got to wear my pretty red, white and blue scarf to celebrate the holiday... I liked dat!

Mom wanted to take me to the mall today, cause hers thought there would be lots of people there; and that would be a great challenge for me. Guess what!? Hers was right...and I had such a good time!

We went to the mall to have lunch at the food court. Boy was there some good smells in there! Mom and the kid got some pizza, (I wasn't allowed to have any, though ;-( But that was okay, cause I've been trained not to eat at the people table; and besides, I got lots of yummy treats afterwards! I liked dat!

While we was at the lunch table, Mommy tested my "leave it" command... hers dropped a piece of food right by my nose, and guess what? I wasn't supposed to touch it... that was okay, though, cause I had learned this at home, and I knew this task! I did real good, and some people that was sittin nearby couldn't believe I was bein so good! I knew that if I didn't touch the food on the food that Mommy would give me the yummy treats she saves for us just for training...and guess what?! I was right! I got my yummy treats for ignoring the people food on the floor ;-)

(Mommy tested my "leave it" command... and I did real good! I know I'm not allowed to eat food that drops on the floor!)

Mommy thought hers could trick me (that silly Mommy!) by having the kid walk over to me while eatin her pizza. Anytime the kid has food, it's always right at my face level; but I know not to take anything from hers...or any other kid; that would be just rude! Mommy had the kid try to tempt me, though; but guess what?! It didn't work! I knew that if I ignored the food in the kid's hands, that I would get the yummy treats again---and I was right! Boy was they good!

Right before we left, Mommy's paper plate fell on the floor. Her hands were full with the try and drink cups, so I picked it up for her, carried it to the trash can, then put it in, just like I was taught. I was so surprized when some passerbys saw what I did and clapped for me! I liked dat! ;-) I wagged my tail and "smiled" at them while we passed by...they smiled back and told me what a pretty and well-behaved doggie I was; thems was so nice!

We left the food court and Mommy had me carry my water bottle through the mall. Lots of people stopped to look... I thought they was makin fun of me, but Mommy told me that they was lookin cause I looked really cute...that made me feel better, and I wasn't scared to do my task in front of people no more.

We stopped in the middle of the mall, and Mommy took me through some more tasks like putting the bottle of water across the aisle of the mall, telling me to wait until the way was clear of people, then "sending" me to go retrieve it. I liked dat!

Then, Mommy "dropped" her keys, and I had to pick them up, carry them back to Mommy's bag on the back of the kid's stroller and drop the keys into Mommy's back to "put them away". Hers backed up farther and farther until hers had to "send" me nearly fifteen feet away to go "put her keys away" all by myself... I liked dat! I had so much fun that I didn't even realize that a whole crowd had gathered to watch me. This time I wasn't shy anymore, and I didn't pay no mind to the people watchin me; I just listened to Mommy real good--- and guess what?! I got a squeeky! Mommy had to take it back pretty quick, though...Did you know that squeekies echo really loud in malls!? They DO! Who knew!?

After the mall, we stopped at Petsmart to see if I could get any other doggies to practice workin around... there was NO other doggies there, though... so Mommy let the kid pick out a couple of new fishies for her tank, and we left. Hers got some pretty fishies! The store clerk let me say hello to them right before she put them into the travel bag ... they was so cute and swam right up to me to say hello...I liked dat!

After dat, it was time to come home. Boy, was I tired! I had such a nice day! Mommy said I did really, really good and didn't get distracted even once! I got lots of yummy treats and was very proud of myself ;-)

I LOVE bein a service dog!

Well, the 4th of July parade is on TV, and I don't want to miss the fireworks! Mommy took the kid to go see them in our hometown last night, but hers said the loud bangs might hurt my sensitive ear drums, so hers left me, Gracie and Dawson home... she said we all could watch 'em on TV tonight, though, cause they aren't loud enough to hurt our ear drums.... I can't wait! I hope you get to see them too!

Mommy, Dawson, Gracie, Kid and I want to wish you all a very happy and safe 4th of July!
I got my formal obedience class tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that goes! If the weather's nice, Mommy said I can go swimmin afterwards; Oh, you know how I love to swim! I'll tell you all about it later!

---Nadja
http://www.canineandabled.com/

Demo Day ;-) Celebrating a Ten Year Milestone...

Hello! Welcome back to my blog!

Guess what?! We all had a Canine and Abled demo today... and guess what?! Mommy said I did a really good job and that hers is very proud of me ;-)

We went to a nearby school and got to meet all kinds of nice kids. They was scared of me at first; Mommy said it was cause I'm so big.... I dunno why they was scared; I wouldn't eat em or anything.... but they got used to me and when they realized that I wasn't gonna eat em, they liked me... and I liked them!

I used ta get scared when I had to do tasks while people was lookin... but today I wasn't scared! I did all my tasks and after each one, the kids clapped for me ---I liked dat!

The kid even helped in our demo today! Hers showed the other kids how she can control us doggies in the event of an e-m-e-r-g-e-n-c-y; and how we've all been trained to listen real good to her. That kid is so cute! Hers did such a good job, and I listened real good cause I wanted us both to do good!

After my tasks were done, Mommy put me back into the van in my nice, cool crate and let me relax while Dawson did his demo, and then Gracie did hers. Mom says we all did a really good job; and we got lots of yummy treats; and guess what?! I got lots of squeeky throws, too! Oh, you know how I love my squeekies!

Today was an extra special demo day cause it is the anniversary of Mommy's accident. It was ten years ago today that hers life was changed forever. It seemed fitting to do something so positive on such a monumental day ;-)

When we got home, it was time for lunch, and a nice snoozie. We all snuggled up close to Mommy cause hers was feelin sick after the busy morning. Mommy loves tellin people all about service dogs, but it sure does take a whole lot of of her. She knows she's going to get sick after each presentation, but hers says she wouldn't change a thing; cause she loves doin Canine and Abled events!

We all laid on top of Mommy while hers was fallin asleep, and hers scratched us behind our ears and on our tummies while wes was fallin asleep; I liked dat! We had such a nice snoozie together!
Mommy felt so much better after takin some medicine and havin a snoozie, and hers wanted to catch up on some cleanin. Hers was still havin trouble bending, though, so hers asked me to help her. I picked up all the stuff off the floor that she needed to have picked up, and even helped with the laundry... I liked dat! I think it's lots of fun to help Mom; and hers is so grateful for my help---we make a really good team, huh?!

Well, it's time for me to sign off for now. I think we're supposed to go to the grocery for a training session tomorrow; so I'll let you know how that goes. Till I "see" you again, stay cool!

--Nadja

http://www.canineandabled.com/

Happy Birfday To Me (& Mommy!), Happy Birfday To Me (& Mommy!)....

Hello! Guess what?! Today's my birfday! Guess what else?! Today's Mommy's birfday, too! Like how cool is THAT!?

Oh, I had the BEST day! First, Mommy said hers had a surprise for me for my birfday... hers took me to Walmart, and I thought hers just needed to pick up some stuff for her; but nope! Hers got me a new POOL! I was Soooo excited (you KNOW how much I love to swim!)
THEN! We stopped at Acme on the way home, and guess what!? I got to pick out my own birfday cake! The man wrote on the cake, "Happy Birthday Nadja & Kim" The best part was the Scooby Doo candle on top! I just love that Scooby guy; he sooo cracks me up!

Here's our cake.......and that's me waiting at the bakery for the man to write our names on it ;-)

Yeah, so then we went home, and Mommy filled up the pool and me, the kid, Gracie and Dawson had the BEST birfday pool party...ever! OH YEAH! Then I got more PRESENTS! I got a new tennis ball dumbell thingy to chase and chew, a retriever roll thingy & Guess What?! I even got a new SQUEEKY! Oh, you know how I love my squeekies!!!! This one is a cheeseburger one! I loved dat! I loved my party, too.....Oh boy was it FUN!

After dat, we had dinner and then....yup, you guessed it! It was time for CAKE! Oh boy was it gooood! I got TWO pieces cause I was the birfday girl and everything... I shared my cake with everyone; and Gracie and Dawson of course ;-)

Boy oh boy has this been the bestest birfday ever! I's only two; and my birfdays keep gettin better and better!

I'm gettin tired cause I had such a big day! I'm takin a couple of days off... Mom says we have somethin called v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n over the next few days. I don't know what that means, but hers said that it's our last rest before our next presentation and book deadlines. So I guess I'll "see" you in a few days!

----Nadja

http://www.canineandabled.com/

Oh Deer! (And bunnies, and chickens, and goats, and pigs...oh my!)

Hiya! Oh, I couldn't wait to tell you about my trip to the horsey farm the other day!
First, I got to say hi to the baby bunnies, who are growin up sooooo fast!

I got to go swimmin with my doggie buddies; and guess what!? They didn't try to eat me.... not even once! Wees friends, now!

It was a great day playin in the pond, the kid squirted me with the hose (I liked dat!), and I ran around with my doggie/bunny friends, too!

Then, guess what!? As if the day weren't already great, Mommy took us to a nearby park that had....deer! Real ones! And thems was tame and came to say hello to me! I stuck my nose through the fence to say, hello; and one even kissed me! I liked dat! Mommy got pictures of me sayin hello to the deers too!

What a great, fun day! I got home and was sooo tired! I felt as though I could sleep for a week; but guess what? I only slept until the next morning..silly me! Then I was already to get up and go for the next day!

Mommy needed to rest on Monday, so we hung around the house...but on Tuesday, we went out for a training day, and guess what!? I got to meet firemen! Real firemen drivin a real firetruck...and guess what??? The kid got to go sit in the firetruck..a real one! Hers was so excited, and I was really excited, too... but I didn't sit in the firetruck; I just hung out with the nice fireman who petted me and talked real nice to me... I liked dat!

So then, we went into Petsmart, where Mommy weighed me (cause hers says I'm still growin and wanted to be sure that I was getting the right amount of food)... Hers was right! I am growin!

After Petsmart, we had lots of shoppin to do at Target; and that's a human-only store. I was real good, and Mommy gave me lots of treats and a squeeky throw when we got out of the store----oh, I love dat squeeky!

Well, I got to go for now; but I'll see you again soon!

---Nadja

http://www.canineandabled.com/

Places to go, bunnies to see, doggies to meet....

Hiya! How are you? I'm doin great ;-) Welcome back to my blog!
I have been a busy, busy girl and so much has been going on this past week! Mom had several bookings this week, so she didn't let me get on the computer as much as usual, so I'm a bit behind in my blog...sorry ;-(

(It's Mom's fault! Shhhhhh!)


***OH! Remind me to tell you about a special day that Mom and Dawson had on Thursday! They went to the Respect, Reflect and Remember day in South Orange, NJ. Mom said it was an honor to be a part of such a wonderful event, and she wanted me to dedicate an entire blog entry to it; so stay tuned...I'll be doin that later this week after I "interview" Dawson and get his take on the big day! ***

Anyway... today I had my formal class...and guess what?? No one but me showed up again! Don't know why, but I was the only one, but Mom takes advantage of a good opportunity to train me at anytime, so since she still had her Canine and Abled demo equipment in the van, she went ahead and set it up.

I did my retrieving meds from a cabinet---open the door, pull the meds, give to Mom, then go back to close the door task (one of my favorites!)

Then, I picked up laundry that was strewn all over the place (messy, messy!) and put them into a laundry basket, then pulled the basket over to where Mom was waiting. Hers said I did good!

When I do good, I get my squeeky thrown for me! Oh boy, do I love my squeeky!!!

Then I turned on a light/turned it back off again...again I got the squeeky!

That was all the equipment Mom had with her, so we worked on those tasks individually, then Mom had me do them all together; and boy, was that fun! Squeeky throw!!!!

It was gettin pretty hot by then, so Mom finished up my training session with a focus exercise, and advanced obedience drills. I was really hot and thirsty after that, and Mom said I was so good...that guess what??!! Hers took me down the trail and to the lake and I got to go swimmin! OH, I LOVE to swim!! It's one of my most favorite things to do; like, ever! Squeeky and me went swimmin together, and we both loved it! I love my squeeky!

So I was all nice and cooled off and Mom said it was time to go home. I was tired by then, and was happy to be back in the A/C and snoozied in the van all the way home!

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So guess what?! Tomorrow we go to the horsie farm where Mom teaches riding lessons... Oh, I love goin there! So many things to sniff, and play with, and and sniff; and oh, they have a hose, and I get sprayed.....Love dat!

Last weekend, Mom took me down there, and there was some other doggies that didn't like me so much before. Mom would keep me in the crate when they was there, cause she didn't want me to get eaten. (I didn't want to get eatin either!)

... well, last week, the other doggies' mommy thought that we should try to meet again, cause when they tried to eat me before, there was puppies involved...now, I would never, ever try to eat no puppies (they so cute and fluffy, and remind me of my own little fur person), but the mommy doggie didn't know this, and well; she tried to eat me! I got so scared! I didn't want no trouble, but hers didn't want to hear any of dat....

Anyways, the puppies and mamma werent' there anymore, so Mom let me go say hi again; and guess what!? They didn't eat me! I was scared at first, but before I knew it, I had made friends, and one of the doggies even went swimmin in the pond with me; oh boy! You know how I like to swim...and swimmin's even better when you have a stick-fetchin buddy!

OH! Guess what else! There was bunnies...baby ones, and OH was they cuuute! The kids put them into a big storage container with soft hay in the bottom for a little while each day to get them used to being handled. They was so cute, I just had to say hello! Mom let me kiss a couple of them, but I got scolded when I tried to climb into the container with the bunnies ;-( I just wanted to play with them! I would never, ever hurt the little babies! Thems so cute! They liked me, too! So then, I had to be happy with just hangin my head over the side of the container, and kissin the bunnies when they came to see me ;-) I loved dat! Theys my friends, and guess what?! We get to go back there tomorrow, and I bet they got big!

Well, I best be gitten to bed... I's got a big day again tomorrow, and want to be plenty rested! I can't wait to go see my swimmin friends (now that I know they won't eat me!), and play with the bunnies, and say hello to the chickens (they don't think too much of me, but I dont' chase them or anything!), oh what fun a farm can be! Yeee haaa! I'll tell ya all about it later! G'night!

--Nadja
http://www.canineandabled.com/ (don't forget to visit me on our site!)

Service Dogs 101!

Hiya! Welcome back to my blog. Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, but things have been very busy, and then Mom got sick again, so we're just getting back to "normal"... for now ;-)
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We had a question from Nancy (hi, Nancy!) from the German Shepherd Group on Myspace....(shout out to the penguins!!!) Nancy brought up a great point that not all people may know exactly what a service dog is, does, and other things that aren't common knowledge.

So.... today I'm going to talk about WHAT exactly a service dog is, what they do, who they help and some little known facts that people might find interesting.

Welcome, to Service Dogs 101!

Okay...first of all, a service dog (sometimes referred to as an assistance dog), is a dog that has been individually trained to assist a person with disabilities to reliably perform tasks that the person can not do for him/herself.

Because a service dog is specially trained, they are permitted to go where most dogs cannot. They are allowed in stores, restaurants, movie theaters, hospitals, ect...basically, anywhere the general public is allowed to go, a service dog must be granted entry.

A person who is/or wants to be partnered with a service dog must have a documented disability that hinders one or more major life activities as outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. (uh, what's that Mom?? Oh, good point!) Mom said to make sure I tell you that not all disabilities are visible, such as traumatic brain injury.

Service dogs provide their partners with daily assistance, making their lives more independent and safe. Partnered patients have reported significant decrease in problematic symptoms, increased self-esteem, lowered blood pressure and many other benefits from their devoted companions.

Most service dogs (but not all) are bred specifically to do their job. Others are rescued from shelters, or start their life in a different job before being trained to assist someone with disabilities.

Service dogs come in all shapes, sizes, breeds, and can be of any gender. It's the individual's ability to do the job well in public and stressful situations that deem it worthy of becoming a service dog.

Not all dogs "make it" as a service dog... in fact, the majority don't. In order to be allowed all the rights provided to service dogs, a trainee must pass a series of very difficult and intense training milestones. They not only must do their job really well in public, but must be able to block out all distractions (such as noise, children, food, and a host of things that some dogs would consider scary).

Some reasons that a dog would "flunk out" of service dog training are: urinating/deficating in public (oh, I would NEVER,EVER do that!!!), destroying property (like store inventory...again, I would NEVER think of doing that!), jumping on people (nope, not me!), being fearful or inattentive in public (can't even imagine), or the biggie: growling, barking, or (heaven forbid!) snapping at another dog or person...this is the end all, be all of service dog flunkees ;-( If a dog is agressive in ANY way, they should NEVER be allowed near the general public; and the handler could be brought up on some serious legal charges should this occur. (Mom advocates for both handlers and businesses who have access issues in court and pre-trial mediations to help settle such issues).

Did you know that there are people out there who actually will try to pass off their pet dogs as service dogs, just cause they want to take them into public places they KNOW they're not allowed to go!? Yeah, I couldn't believe it either, but guess what?!

Not only is it dangerous (cause passed off dogs don't have the training to ensure that they will remain calm in all situations), but it gives REAL service dogs a bad name if they injure or scare someone or break or damage something in a public place.... Not only that, but it is sooooooo ILEEGAL (a federal offense) to do that, too! Mom has helped to prosecute many "fake" service dog teams and they've had to pay some heavy, heavy fines, and some even faced jail time!

Hmmmmm.....let's see...what else???

Oh! I know! It takes about two and a half years to finish up the initial training of a service dog.... and even then, training never really stops. Service dogs are constantly "brushed up" on tasks, learn new ones, and work on obedience to keep them sharp and interested at all times.
Did you know that even though the laws protect people with disabilities who use service dogs, that businesses often illegally turn them away due to lack of education of these laws? That's right! My mom started an educational program that adddresses such issues; and I help demonstrate service dog tasks, too!

The program is called, Canine and Abled, Inc. and you can learn all about it, and LOTS more stuff that I might have forgotten to add here: http://www.canineandabled.com/

Well, it's gettin late, and we have a big demo on Thursday, so tomorrow is packing day! Lots to do, so we gotta get our rest. Can't wait to see you again!

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog, and tell all your friends, too! Got a question for me? Subject suggestion?? Send me your comments! I love to hear from my "fans" ;-)
Till next time, stay cool!

----Nadja
http://www.canineandabled.com/