It Happened

May 15, 2009

Well, it happened. Kruiser (now spelled Kruizer which is actually the correct spelling--I didn't want to change the blog name once I found out) has gone to his boy Matthew. Sigh. Here we are at the hand-over. It may not show but both Ed and I were fighting tears. Kruizer will still have some training to do as he bonds with Matthew and then in a couple of months or so he will be certified as a full-fledged assistance dog.

Events surrounding the hand-over: the new puppies were born to Kruizer's parents on May 14th, the day before we said goodbye to Kruizer. We went over to see them their first night of out-of-the-womb life and named the last one born "Kaboose." It ends up Kaboose will be our next puppy to raise (see http://kaboosesjournal.blogspot.com.) Then a week after we handed Kruizer over, my dad died. Sweet sorrow partings. In Kruizer's case it was mostly sweet. Matthew will have an amazing, smart, energetic, devoted, and mostly obedient dog for many years.

Here's to you, Kruizer!

You can continue to follow Kruizer's training with Matthew at http://dogandhisboy.blogspot.com.

It's Really Going to Happen

May 4, 2009

After a delay due to the need for a 6 ft high fence, fundraising for said fence, and the first weekend of manual labor to put in new fence posts, it looks like Kruiser will be going to his family in just a little over a week. (Today I saw the need for the fence up close--Kruiser jumped out of a neighbor's yard several times to get to me, sailing effortlessly over their 3 ft. high wood fence.) Over the last couple of months we thought the transfer was imminent, but because of the need for the new fence, it kept being pushed back. After two months of goodbyes we're now truly ready for Kruiser to move on (not that the final goodbye will be tear-free!) Also, Kruiser's mom Kando is pregnant and due to deliver puppies on May 16th. This means we'll be in the beginning stages of puppy raising again by late July and we look forward to a break between dogs to mentally prepare for loving a new puppy...and housebreaking.

To make the transition easier for Kruiser and his boy Matthew, we met with them last Friday at Colorado Mills for a training session. Matt picked up on the basics very quickly. Initially Kruiser was a bit confused about who he should listen to, but by the end of the session he was on the floor fully attentive while Matt taught him how to crawl. It was wonderful to see them interact.

Here's a picture of Kruiser and Matt working together.


Thanks go out to everyone who contributed money for the family's fence. It's been amazing to see people's generosity in helping to make this relationship between Kruiser and Matthew happen.

Backlit Drool & Zen Dog

March 16, 2009

Remember those nude baby-in-the-bathtub photos your parents threatened to show your future spouse (or did!)? Here's Kruiser's equivalent. I was taking pictures of him for Ed (see below) and decided to get a few closeups so we'll remember him grown. Maybe it was my tone of voice, but clearly Kruiser thought there was some treat to be had.

Here's the Zen-dog photo for Matt (that's a meditation stool Ed built for him.) Note the hint of scorn in Kruiser's eyes.

Last Ski

March 16, 2009

We went for our last ski with Kruiser this weekend. After taking both dogs on the dog trails (photo above) we left Pat in the car and skied non-dog trails with Kruiser. Crushed at not being able to find a stick anywhere in the meadow, Kruiser pulled off a small branch of sagebrush and carried it for the rest of the ski. At lunch a trail grooming snowcat came by. We fully expected them to challenge us about having a dog on a non-dog trail, but the operator only stopped to say hi. He remembered Kruiser from an earlier ski and asked how he was doing. Later we bumped into a group of 3 women who cooed and gushed over Kruiser and another guy who actually threw the sagebrush limb for him to retrieve. It sure seemed like Kruiser was carrying out a campaign to open ALL trails at Devil's Thumb to dogs.

It's hard these last days, having so many "lasts" with Kruiser, but at the same time it's exciting how well he's doing with the detailed training for helping Matthew through non-verbal prompting. With reminders from Ed, Krusier now has the routine down to go out back to pee, then jump on the bed and nuzzle my ear and face to "wake" me up, then run down the front steps to "go get the paper," then gallumph up the stairs to "bring" it to me. I then sort the paper and rebag the sections to be recycled and tell him to "bring" them to Ed (the "bringing" of the paper will transfer into Kruiser bringing Matthew his medicine in a bag, reminder notes, etc.). After coffee and paper, I ask him (Kruiser, not Ed) to "go get my clothes" and point toward the pile I left the night before. One by one, he carries over my shirt and then my jeans. To Kruiser it's all a great game of fetch. Hopefully it will make Matthew and his family's life better.

The Yoga Gadfly

Feb. 24, 2009

Just before the beginning of yoga class this morning, Kruiser took it into his mind to great each and every person in the room. We went around the circle and he had a nuzzle and a sniff for each of these folks he'd been watching from afar since last October. Very sweet. Everyone was thrilled. Did he intuit that he'll only see them a couple more times? I leaked tears during the relaxation at the end of class as I pictured future classes where he won't be lying down beside me and sending mellow vibes my way.

Happy Birthday, Kruiser

Feb. 18, 2009

Today was Kruiser's first birthday. He celebrated by going to Deborah's and meeting up with his mom, the other yellow lab in the picture named Kan Do, and three sibs--Kookie, Missie who now lives next door, and Beau who is a family pet. No party hats, but plenty of treats all round. Some good looking dogs!

Kookie was the only sib at the party who is also in training to be an assistance dog. Two of Kruiser's other sibs went to other trainers and one of them is already in service, but unfortunately neither could come.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Feb. 6, 2009

With Deborah's guidance, we've added some new commands that are specific to helping Matthew deal with his morning transitions and his meltdowns. Kruiser is learning to wake up a person on command (and with a treat strategically placed on an ear.) He jumps onto the bed and then rummages for the treat and licks the ear and face. With a "get my clothes" command, he pulls clothes over from a pile I make the night before. Up to now, I've had to toss a shirt onto the pile first to trigger his retrieval instinct, but this morning he did it on command alone. For bedmaking, I have him pull at the bedcovers, though I don't know if we'll ever get it to be more than just an initiation of the process--I really doubt a dog has a mental contruct for a "made up" bed. I have him lie next to me when I playact a mild meltdown, and after his first few very worried nuzzle responses, he now mostly stays beside me passively. He sits by the cupboard where we keep Pat's thyroid meds when I say "time for your meds, Pat," (an easy one to teach since we've usually let Kruiser lick the knife or spoon after Pat takes most of the peanut butter and pill anyway.) And finally Kruiser comes and sits by me as I wash my face and brush my teeth. This morning I was in a rush and forgot to prompt him, but he still did it. In all these new commands he's an A, number one, star pupil.

But...last weekend up in the mountains and on Monday, he bolted out of the car or pulled the leash out from under my foot or slipped out of his collar to go say hi to other dogs, and this week there have been two occasions when he really wouldn't keep a down/stay. He was good at yoga, the eye doctor's, the grocery store, a bookstore, the pet store, and a restaurant, but in my pottery class he wouldn't stay under the table in a down for more than 10 minutes. Then last night after being perfect at Tokyo Joe's and Barnes and Noble, he refused to lie down at the movie theater. When I finally got him down, he was right back up, just like in pottery class. He was so restless that I finally took him outside to be sure he didn't need to go to the bathroom. He "performed" but not with any urgency and was only marginally better when we went back inside.

So today, with trepidation, I made a prearranged visit to a third grade classroom with him. He was wonderful--responsive to the kids but not overexcited, listened to me, relaxed when he lay down to hear some of the kids read, and kept a down/stay. What a relief! A classroom setting might the most important place for him to handle well for Matthew's sake. I plan to take him back next week during science when the class is more active and maybe try a recess as well.

I wish I could get inside Kruiser's head to figure out why some places work so well and others don't. Are we taking him too many places? Does he not like the darkness of being under the table or in a movie theatre? I'll just have to keep trying different venues and different strategies. As for the bolting, I need to set up situations where I can remind him that it's not okay to lunge to say hello, but most of all I need to be more vigilant myself--remember to shut the car door, don't expect snow to prevent the leash from slipping away, don't be adjusting his collar when another dog is chasing a frisbee nearby. For that, I'm the one who has to be the better pupil.

Kruiser has a family!

Jan. 25, 2009

It's official. Kruiser has a family now. We made the connection through someone at the Joshua School in Denver who had worked on Boulder County school district disability policy with the mom of the family. The family has 4 kids: Christina (age 13), Matt and Katie (twins, age 10), and Donny (age 3). Matt has Asperger's and will be the main child Kruiser assists, but Katie also has been diagnosed as bipolar, so he can help her out as well. Here are some pictures of them meeting Kruiser.

From left to right, that's Mom holding Donny, Dad, Matt, a stranger who came over to talk with Deborah, Christina, and Katie's knees. And, of course, Kruiser.

Here's Donny and Dad giving Kruiser a belly rub. Mmmm.


And Matt trying to get Kruiser to "touch" his hand (with Katie to the right of him).

We're very happy, but some tears, especially at first, realizing that we will be giving Kruiser up soon. We're delighted with the family--they are so excited to be getting him (the mom left me a message early on, her voice almost breaking, calling it a godsend.) And they will clearly be able to give him the exercise and love he needs. The mom had worked at an SPCA in dog obedience classes and would have loved to raise a puppy herself if she didn't have so many demands on her time, especially with a toddler. And both she and Christina are runners. Their yard abuts a couple of acres of open space, complete with a pond (they've agreed to upgrade their fence so Kruiser can't jump out to enjoy it unaccompanied.) They even have an older dog, a 13-year-old black lab mix, and a cat that Kruiser got along with nicely on his house visit with Deborah. We feel like he will be well taken care of. And we already know he'll bring them so much.

We still have Kruiser for about six weeks to do some of the foundation work for the specialized training to support Matt in handling meltdowns and anxiety, etc.. So there will still be a few more entries, but we're getting close to closure. It's amazing how an idea turns into a real puppy and trainer, and a hypothetical family becomes real people.

Twentysomethings

Jan. 1, 2009

We had our annual family gathering at Snow Mountain Ranch over the New Year with my sisters and their families which are principally dominated by five twentysomething cousins and significant others including our son Matt and his wife Liyun. Here's a picture with Pat and Kruiser piled onto Alex and Amy, two of the cousins.



We cross-country skied most days and Kruiser went with us every day. He was great on the groomed trails. We'd let him off leash as soon as we left the busy areas and he stayed close by with stick in mouth, hopeful for a toss. We had a one or two mile downhill one day and he kept up perfectly, though at the beginning of the downhill we almost wiped out. At full speed Kruiser accidentally dropped his stick. I managed to dodge it on my skis but then he lunged for it and I had to dodge him too. By then I was almost off the trail and had to make an emergency sharp left to avoid the snowbank. As graceless as the whole maneuver was, we somehow all stayed upright and Kruiser hung on to his stick all the rest of the run down.

Pat and Kruiser made me proud more than once with their fine manners inside the cabin. Best example--a bag of trash broke as Ed was taking it out and Pat, Kruiser, and my sister Debby's dog Tucker all descended on the open trash. I called out "ignore" from across the room and both Kruiser and Pat immediately walked away. What dogs!

Wild Child to Perfect Puppy

Dec. 14, 2008

Today Kruiser went from "Wild Child" at the cabin--playing ferociously with Pat, bothering the cat, begging for us to throw sticks--to "Perfect Puppy" on the groomed cross-country ski trails at Devil's Thumb. I had taken both him and Pat on the dog trails at Devil's Thumb the day before and it was total chaos--tangled leashes, lots of tugging, having to pick up after them, my hands freezing in the wind chill. Then on Sunday went to ski with Ed on the regular non-dog trails. At the last minute I decided to at least give Kruiser a try. I put on his vest, his self-correcting collar, leash and started out. He was PERFECT. He stayed in a heel, watched me the whole time, stopped when I stopped, switched sides when I asked him to (my arms got sore poling on just one side.) It was like he needed to work, that he was bored at the cabin.

Here's a staged picture of him in his vest and me on skis and wearing a goofy hat in front of the cabin--we didn't have the camera with us at Devil's Thumb.

Another Puppy Raiser

November, 2008



Judy from my yoga class is now a "puppy raiser" to one of Kruiser's litter mates. Here she is with Kookie at training. Kookie is more challenging than Kruiser, if only because she hasn't had a continuous puppy raiser the way Kruiser has had. However, she definitely has the aptitude--she brings Judy her keys, the remote, the paper, almost without asking. A great litter!

This month Kruiser went through a lot of teenage behavior. He unlearned "down stay" and we had to remind him of it over and over. On the other hand, he learned how to retrieve the paper (Kookie & Judy gave us the idea) for Ed in the morning after only 5 minutes of teaching him using an old paper. His only issue was that he wanted to play with it on the way up the stairs. It just took attaching him to a long lead and giving him a gentle tug along with a "come" and he got it. Since then he's been getting the paper every morning. The first big Sunday paper threw him, but now he can even handle that. It's almost as if he says, "Why didn't you teach me this sooner!" He's also getting better with handicap buttons, though I still don't think he's made the connection between pressing the button and opening the door--his connection is between putting his paws up on the button and getting a treat and lots of praise. The women working at credit union and the city hall get a kick out of the training and have loved to see him progress at opening their doors.

Learning New Skills

Nov. 10, 2008
We're working on a couple of new skills. "Pull" is one. I started by getting Kruiser to pull on a double knotted cotton dog pull and then worked up to a macramé plant hanger attached to the refrigerator door hand. It took a couple of days, but as you can see above and below Kruiser can now reliably open the fridge door.
I learned something too--I need to unattach the plant hanger when we're done practicing. Ed came home the other day and the fridge door was wide open. Fortunately, Kruiser hadn't figured out there's food inside!

The other skill we're working on is opening handicap doors. I started by lifting Kruiser's paw and pressing the handicap button with it. He didn't get it. At home I came up with a plan. If I could extend his "up" command (we use that to invite him onto the bed) by putting a treat on the edge of the kitchen counter then he would put his paws up and get the treat. Wrong. He jumped ALL the way onto the counter (hey, just like getting "up" on the bed, right?) Oops. A neighbor suggested a "paws up" command. That seems to be working well. Today at the post office I put a treat on the ledge over the handicap button and as he went for the treat with the "paws up" command he managed to push the button with one of his paws. However, the next time I put the treat on the ledge, he snatched it without touching the button. Finally I tried holding the treat right against the surface of the button. It worked--he pushed the button going for the biscuit. But despite my rapturous praise I don't think he realized he opened the door. At least I think we have a system that works now and maybe if we practice it enough Kruiser will make the connection between pushing the button and the door opening. Fun stuff!

Wheelchairs

Oct. 16, 2008

We were at the doctor's office today and I saw a bunch of wheelchairs in the entry with "Kaiser Permanente" written on the backs. When I checked in, I asked if I could use one for training. It ends up I was a klutz, but Kruiser just walked alongside my drunken path, looking at me the whole time to see if I was okay (or nuts perhaps). By the time I got my coordination down, he was less attentive, but I just asked him to heel and he did. He also was great at hanging behind me as I went through the doorway. A few people must have wondered about my miraculous recovery as I jumped up out of the wheelchair and strode into my appointment.


Here's a picture from last weekend. Kruiser is really into sticks these days...BIG sticks.

Vets Are A Breed Apart

Oct. 13, 2008

I am so impressed with vets. Kruiser needed neutering and Deborah's vet wouldn't have her office up and running until January. We called our vet in town and our vet at the cabin asking if they might be willing to donate a neutering. Both of them said "yes." We went with the one in town for simplicity and Kruiser came home a bit groggy but in great shape. Now maybe he won't hump small dogs on the creek path! (It was his humping a little whippet that prompted us to do this.) He now weighs 67 pounds.

Puppy Raising as Therapy

Sept. 28, 2008

A cool story from a woman in my yoga class (where Kruiser is now a regular and adding to the mellow vibes of the class by sleeping through it or watching non-plussed as people contort their bodies in interesting ways)--

A friend of hers adopted a girl many years ago, and when the girl reached 15 she wanted to find her birth mom. The adopted mom supported her in her search and they located the birth mom in Florida. By then the girl was 16 and planned a trip to Florida to meet her face-to-face. At the last minute, the girl backed out, too afraid to carry through with her plans.

The adopted mom wanted to find some way to help the girl understand her biological mom and came up with the idea to become a puppy raiser for an assistance dog. They did this. The puppy grew up and they gave it to the training organization for its final training, the girl seeing how you can love someone but still give them up for all sorts of good reasons. Lesson learned.

There's a nice postscript to the story, too. In the end, the puppy, now dog, failed as an assistance dog and the adopted girl and her family got to keep it.

He Likes His Pool

Sept. 9, 2008

Kruiser likes his pool (even empty)


...and the cat.

Houdini

Sept. 9, 2008

A couple of days ago, I left Kruiser in his crate while I went to the Rec Center to swim. When I got back, he greeted me at the back door. I thought Ed had come home and let him out, but no, no Ed. I checked his crate. There were only 3 screws on to hold it together and the one on the back had pulled through. He had somehow nosed his way through the gap and pushed hard enough to slip the screw head through the plastic around the hole and then hopped out. He was totally unfazed by the whole thing and hadn’t gotten into anything in the house he shouldn’t have. The next time I went out for errands, I left him with Pat loose in the house. When I got back 45 mins later, he was asleep on the sofa and again no pillaged trash cans or torn apart stuffed animals. He’s growing up!

Adolescence

Aug. 31, 2008

In general, Kruiser has been doing really well. He's good in the house, no problems with toileting, loves chasing and retrieving balls, is a really strong swimmer. But we occasionally run into some adolescent behaviors like a sudden refusal to lie down, or retrieving a thrown ball but dropping it several feet away. Deborah had us go back several steps and use a tug down on the prong collar as we said "down" for a couple of days, and when playing fetch to have Kruiser leashed so we could reel him in closer on the "drop" or "give." The first correction worked well. The second had mixed success, but in general he's better about dropping the ball close now. His "wait" when we throw the ball isn't at 100% but so long as we're standing (in a position of authority) he will wait for a "take it" release. Of course, if Pat is nearby and eying the ball, Kruiser's self-discipline waivers. Solution? Put Pat in a sit and wait as well, and then all is well.

We took Kruiser to his first volleyball game last night. At first his head did the back and forth cartoon swivel watching the ball, but pretty soon he settled down and even slept until stomping in the stands woke him. A toddler took to him and gave him lots of pats and pokes--Kruiser handled it all well and even annointed the little boy with slobber on his hair. When we left, the boy ran up and asked to give Kruiser a goodbye hug. Very sweet.

Today at church Kruiser really took to the kids that came up to him, and once again Leah asked if she could pat him and if he was soft. Kruiser is really gentle with her and seems interested in engaging her, though when she sat on the floor next to him (he was in a "down") we had to watch that he didn't reach for her with his paw. It will be good to take him into more school settings soon so he has more chance to be around kids, but from what we can tell, he's going to do well with them.

So I took him to the vet's to pick up Pat's thyroid medicine and weighed him--59 lbs. Here's a picture of the growing boy from Sat. morning on a hike at our cabin.

Update

Aug. 13

No pictures this time but an update on how Kruiser is doing. First of all, he's getting even more relaxed and comfortable in public places. When we waited for Matt and Liyun to arrive at the airport, Kruiser lay down and rolled over to sleep on his back, belly exposed. I thought this might be too casual for public, but Deborah said it was great because it showed his lack of stress. And then last weekend we spent an hour or more at Best Buy and I forgot at times he was even with us--he sat whenever I stopped and if we were in one place for very long, lay down when I told him to. (After meeting with Deborah, we had to work on his 'sit' and 'down'--because he slides on smooth surfaces, I had been letting him go into a down without asking, and his sit was getting lazy as a consequence. I got on him right after that, and after an initial period of being confused and even a little scared, he finally understood. I'm at lot more careful now about keeping him in a sit and being sure to say 'down' if he has to keep it for very long on slippery floors.)

Kruiser's love of chasing balls and frisbees keeps growing. We still sometimes have to work with his bringing them all the way to us and dropping them (or "giving" them to us in our hand). Best method to get him to bring them all the way is to walk away and then he comes with them the rest of the way. Food doesn't begin to work when retrieving is involved. He likes the ball/frisbee and chasing after them way more than any treats.

Kruiser had his first bout with giardia a week ago. We hiked up to Columbine Lake, close to Arapaho Pass on the western side of the Divide with plenty of still water along the way and in the lake as well; he and Pat also sampled scat as usual (yuck), either of which could have been the source. They're both fine now. Kruiser's first shot against giardia meant he had it less severely than Pat. No fun regardless.

The seasoned traveler

July 23, 2008

We're back in Colorado. The trip East with Kruiser was a roaring (or is that barking?) success. He was near perfect on all three airplane rides and in the airport and car and hotels and restaurants and, of course, was a conversation piece everywhere he went.

Here's Kruiser diving into my mom's lake after a tennis ball (if he flunks as an assistance dog he could definitely pursue a career in water sports),


and on a canoe ride (he snatched at lily pads and pickerel weeds and only tried to put a paw into the water twice, but we managed to stay upright),


and at sunrise on Pemaquid Point (on the Maine coast) doing a perfect sit for Ed.


As he had on the trip East, Kruiser traveled like a pro flying home (and less stressed/tired than I was after the 5 am wake-up and hours of waiting in the Chicago airport.)

We flew standby on an earlier flight to Chicago to give him bathroom time there and then tried to get onto another earlier flight back to Denver (no luck) but at least Kruiser entertained some of the kids who were waiting as well.


At one point Kruiser saw a girl come off a plane holding an almost life-sized stuffed lab puppy toy. Kruiser sniffed the "puppy" and wagged his tail, bowing in play posture and then bouncing. He even licked its mouth and checked out the other end too. That entertained the adults as well. Not one of his more intelligent moments.

While at my mom's in Maine, Kruiser hit another full-of-himself stage. Worst was after he played fetch with the frisbee and decided chewing on the frisbee was more interesting than coming. Later when we were inside, I called him a couple of times with a "come" and he just gave me full-faced stares and refused to budge. Now when playing fetch with the frisbee we say "bring the frisbee" instead of "come"--we can't afford to lose ground on his recall!