On Sunday we took Kruiser to church. To be safe we sat in the back near the door. It was a service conducted by the youth group with a Jazz quartet playing backup. When the trumpet, sax, and trombone blared out for the first time Kruiser almost barked. We reassured him, and the bark face disappeared. Each time they played after that he just perked his ears. He has some special response to music, especially live music. Even if I sing along with a CD he perks his ears and stares at me intently. Is it pleasure? I’m not sure. He’s starting to vocalize with his yawns the way Pat does, so maybe he’ll end up being a singer. All in all, he was fantastic at church. He sat or lay down most of the time and fell asleep on the feet of a friend of ours who was seriously considering being a puppy raiser for his remaining litter mate (unfortunately, he and his wife decided against it). When it came time for newcomers to introduce themselves, Ed introduced Kruiser as a service dog in training, intended to work with kids with autism, and said there was still one puppy left needing a raiser.
After the service a number of people came up to meet Kruiser. One woman worked with autistic preschoolers and had never heard of service dogs for children with autism. She was really interested in the concept, though dubious about our bringing Kruiser to her program in the fall—she felt the children were too young and would get overstimulated if he came. She did suggest other folks working with older autistic kids in Jefferson County, a couple of whom we already know. Another young woman with developmental disabilities came up. She was thrilled by everything Kruiser did, though she over-reacted a bit, like jerking her hand when Kruiser sniffed it. But she kept coming back and always with a smile. Another young girl hung out with him almost the whole time we were there. He’s such a conversation piece! I want to learn more about the use of service dogs with autistic kids so I can answer more specific questions people have and help to promote the program.
We’re even more convinced now that Kruiser does extremely well in public places and around people, but he gets much too excited when there are dogs around. We need to talk with Deborah about how to help him with that. My guess is that we need to instill his commands and responses to the point where he can follow them even when there are other dogs around.
We’re trying to work on “heel,” but so far it seems that it’s just Kruiser following a biscuit around our homemade course. I'm curious how he makes the transition to understanding 'heel' means to stay at our side and follow as we walk, etc.
Ed is still trying to get a picture of Pat, Kruiser, and Chloe. Here’s our best shot so far, entitled “Morningtime with Three Creatures.”
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