Finally!

After the last week of snow and three days of a fever, Ellie and I got to do some serious training today. We reviewed all the basics, and then went outside without the leash. We have a wrap around driveway and only the street side of the yard is unfenced. I brought a handful bacon and cheese wraps, cut into 1" pieces. I used 'heel' when we started walking. Every three or four feet, if Ellie was still healing, she got a treat and a 'good Ellie'. If she wasn't, I told her to wait, ans when I caught up, I stopped and had her sit, then gave her a treat. Again, I used 'heel' as we started walking. By the second time around the house, I was just giving her a treat every three feet, along with a reminder to 'heel'. Then we played with her kong ball as a reward. I would throw it across the yard and Ellie would fetch it and bring it back. She needs a 'leave it' reminder and then she drops it at my feet and we did it all over again. I watched for her attention wavering, having saved one last treat. When she seemed to be losing interest, I said, "Ellie in" she ran up the steps and sat and waited for me. After I opened the door and went in,I said OK and Ellie came in. She sat right in front of me and waited for me to give her the last treat. I can't wait for spring. Ellie loves to be outside is it is not cold, icy, or wet.

A Fair Weather Dog

Ellie is feeling much better. It is a good thing. With the cold, wet, snow today, Ellie doesn't even want to go out to pee. She is truly a Georgia dog. Her winter coat and boots don't help, neither does her rain coat. Her and GB want/ need to go out and run. I hope winter ends really, really soon.

OOPS!

GB and Ellie went food shopping with me this afternoon. GB thought it was a spectacular success. Everyone we met told GB how beautiful Ellie was and asked to pet her. She made sure the world knew Ellie was HER working dog. From Ellie's point of view, it wasn't so successful. She was shaking most of the time we were in Hannaford. She wasn't heeling, had to be reminded to sit when I stopped, and a couple of times started to drag me. I guess I let the public access brush-ups go too long. Ellie and will have to get in the habit of going out in her working vest everyday. We got back and let Ellie run for a couple of minutes, do her business, and she was done. She wanted to go in, and as soon as she was in, she found her bed and went to sleep. GB has 2 playmates over, so I am blogging in the same room as they are playing and Ellie has been asleep the last hour. The noise and chaos isn't bothering her at all. One of the girls is GB's age and the other is 4. GB and the four year old are on about the same level socially and emotionally. Her friend, who is the same age (almost 7), is using a lot of self-control and trying to organize the other two into a coherent game. She is having very limited success. 

A Good Morning Training

Ellie and I had a good morning training after she walked GB to the bus. We worked on longer stays when I was out of sight, extended our wait time while there was a yummy treat in plain view, and reviewed all the old commands Ellie and I have down. Ellie and GB are getting really attached. I have taken to putting GB to bed first and Ellie sometime later, and each night when she goes to bed, first she checks to make sure  GB is in bed and sleeping, then Ellie jumps up on her blanket, turns three times and is in for the night. We are still working on making GB's commands more consistent.

Christmas Eve

GB and Ellie are waiting for cousins, dinner, then FINALLY decorating the Christmas Tree. TV distracts them briefly.

 

Trying to keep the excitement of the day from being overwhelming.

Last School Night

Ellie and GB made it to almost 6 (AM) this morning. Ellie and I took advantage of GB being in school to work on "stay". There was no work expected today, so school and GB got alone just fine. GB had a great time at dancing.  After a tea party and dinner, the two of them watched TV and cuddled until bedtime.

 TV and cuddling go well together.

Halfway There

GB and I spent twelve hours in the car and just arrived at my sister's, outside Raleigh, NC. We have another 7 1/2 hours of driving to get to Ellie. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow(today, I guess), but GB almost never does that, so we will see. We are taking tomorrow(today) off so GB can bake cookies with her cousins (and get some of the car ride out of her). We will leave Saturday morning and make Ellie's by 3 pm. GB can't contain her excitement. It is good to see her enthusiasm, but tiring trying to keep it within some sort of boundaries.

The Beginning of this Journey

GB is a beautiful 6 and a half (don't forget the half!) year old girl. She does great cartwheels, did her first back handspring, loves to dance, is solid student in a regular first grade class, has a contagious laugh and has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). There are times when she gets overwhelmed, and times when she sees danger in everything. New experiences, even pleasant ones, are difficult for her. To expand her world and help her with transitions, we applied for a service dog in March, 2009. She was approved and eventually paired with Ellie. Tomorrow, GB and I leave for Georgia, to do our partnership training and, hopefully, bring Ellie home.