Froggie getting weighed at the Animal Medical Center was a lot different than being weighed at home and not knowing the name of the command did not help the attendant, but Froggie obviously thought all was rather curious. Froggie's 6-month birthday, planned days in advance with an appointment at the Animal Medical Center in Clarksville, Tennessee, with her favorite human friends, hoping to meet another animal or two and visit with Doctor Kilcoyne's Silver Standard Poodle, Maggie, who kept everyone under control.
Entering the lobby, she went straight to the counter, raised up, placed her front paws on the counter and then peeked over at Ruth Green. "Well, Hi Froggie!", Ruth exclaimed as she greeted her and then came around for an up-close hug, but Froggie was more interested in meeting a Beagle who had absolutely no interest in "The Frog".
Doctor Kilcoyne arrived with Maggie and Froggie missed the chance to say "hello" because she was just too busy trying to convince the Beagle to play, (who was more interested in protecting his owner), and then was called into one of the examining rooms to see Doctor Kilcoyne. Without hesitation, Froggie quickly turned and headed for the room, where she knew she would get all sorts of attention from Doctor Kilcoyne, along with his tender loving care.
What "The Frog" did not know was her favorite doctor was about to perform an ovario-hysterectomy. In the perfect world, protecting the species of a breed is of high importance and in our opinion, no Service Animal (male or female) should not have the proper procedure (for their sex) to eliminate possible breeding. Froggie was happy, alert and ready for her injection that would allow her to sleep through the surgery and her Handler disappeared out the door for the pet store after visiting with Doctor Kilcoyne.
Returning late in the day to pick up Froggie was an experience it itself. Froggie was excited to see her Hanlder and a neighbor, but yelped slightly when attempting to reach for a hug. As Doctor Kilcoyne walked into the examining room, Froggie eagerly greeted him and Froggie's Handler laughed. "I guess she isn't upset with you." She told the doctor.
"No, we're still friends. She doesn't know it was me that did it to her." The doctor laughed.
Arriving home Froggie was treated just like the Princess she is and quietly enjoyed every bit of all the attention while being settled in for the night. She slept through the night but her perkiness quickly changed on the following morning, following her Handler and hurting, there was no solution other than setting up three places for Froggie to lodge to keep her Handler in sight and stay calm.
Later in the day, a neighbor Froggie adored came to visit. Oops, the wire kennel, (lovingly referred to as Froggie's jail), was set up under her Handler's desk after being stored for several days. After Froggie's pillow was set inside, Froggie quickly entered her "jail" and settled down again. The Handler looked at her neighbor and asked, "How am I going to keep her calm for ten days?" Froggie would not eat, not even a treat, or drink any water and the Handler becoming very concerned telephoned the Animal Medical Center. Ruth Green told her to wait 48-hours, be mindful Froggie does not attempt to pull at her stitches and keep her calm, suggesting a light blanket to cover her. Sure enough, this worked!
On the third day, Froggie showed no obvious sign of discomfort. In fact, she was eating and drinking and wanting to play but the Handler placed a quick "nix" on the latter. After a brief walk outside during noon, Froggie basked in the sun inside the office where her Handler continued her work. Pampered and loved, she continued to display a pleasant demeanor, the two days of discomfort well worth her surgery and now the third day questionable:
"How does one keep 'The Frog' from playing and jumping?"
Sometimes, one just may have to have a heart to heart talk...
The answer is relatively simple: Any Handler who works with a canine considered a "puppy" must not expect more of the canine than what the canine can give. In many cases, canines are considered "puppies" until they are one year of age, but this is NOT the general rule for large bred canines, who do not necessarily mature until they are two years of age. Rather than provide a raft of examples, we will concentrate on Froggie's progress and possibly her "set-backs".
Working with a Service Canine expected to perform tasks that will be of a helpful and needed nature for a person with a disability, is not the same as with a "pet". Service Animals or Canines, as the case may be, are not trained in the same manner. A good example of this is one should probably not train a Service Canine to "attack" because that could most definitely backfire when least expected.
Restricting a puppy from being a puppy is counter-productive; find a "safe place" for puppy behavior when needed. Within a short period of time, your Service Canine will know when he/she can be a "puppy" and when puppy behavior is not accepted. It is also important to refrain from allowing strangers to communicate with your Service Canine. The general rule; "Please do not touch, look or speak to my Service Canine; (he/she) is working", is always appropriate.
May 11, 2008
Eight Months of Age
August 11, 2008All Most Eleven Months Old
Waiting for command to retrieve and give Handler a shoe.
A Brand New Look for Froggie's Birthday!
September 11, 2008
The morning Princess Froggie Loveable Doodle turned one year of age, a phone call was made to Muttz Kuttz for her traditional gift - grooming by a professional team! Her hair was now as long as 6-inches in length over several areas of her body and had become quite a chore for a person with limited strength to brush daily. Though she was just as pretty with a "roughed up" look as what she was when combed out, the reality was she needed to be "combed out" at least every other day and this task was becoming nearly impossible with her long hair.
During the short drive to Muttz Kuttz, a tough decision was being pondered over: "How much hair should be cut off and would the haircut make her look strange?" Leaving the final decision to Groomer Stephanie and her assistant, Shanta Thompson, at Muttz Kuttz was a wise decision when Froggie happily greeted Jan Courteaux, who whisked her away for her bath.
It was late in the afternoon when returning to retrieve Froggie, eagarally greeting Jude Courteaux, a Kennel Worker, with camera in hand. A very smart decision was asking someone else to take the precious photos, so as not to risk disturbing "The Frog" who was being quite cooperative and paying attention to every snip. The following photos were taken by Jan Courteaux who bathed Froggie:
"The Frog" was quick to notice Jan walk in with the camera and smiled quite nicely for her; the two groomers had now completed most of their extraordinary scissor cut and were completing finishing touches for "The Frog", Stephanie was now working on Froggie's right ear, while Shanta brushed her hair on her left ear.
Final touches included Froggie's paws; like a human's shoes, one of the more noticeable items on a living being and very important for any canine.
Just as important were the pads on Froggie's paw; who remained at attention while Stephanie carefully trimmed the excess hair away from in-between the pads, which will assist Froggie's performance when entering buildings with slick floors and then continued to diligently clip an even appearance, rounding out the hair without exposing her toenails. By judging from the above photos, there is no doubt Froggie knows what a camera's flash means and loves to pose for her picture.
A great deal of attention was paid to Froggie's legs and paws, worked on avidly by both Stephanie and Shanta to give this task performer comfort and an attractive appearance. Shanta appears to respond to Jan, who may well be asking about Froggie's bangs.
It would appear by the expression on "The Frog" and Stephanie, that Jan surely asked, "What about her bangs?" No doubt, Jan was told Froggie's bangs would be trimmed as well. (Days earlier, the Handler/Owner took a pair of scissors to trim them and this surely did not help Muttz Kutts Groomer's.) Ultimately, the bangs were trimmed by Stephanie and the final result turned into an award winning appearance!
There was no doubt, a certain amount of shock enveloped the Handler as she saw her Service Canine being led into the lobby, looking much like she did when she was a younger puppy. The Handler was not quite certain about "The Frog's" new look and acquainted it with having her own hair cut. (It will grow out again!) Within less than a couple of hours, the Handler not only adjusted, but was extremely pleased with her beautiful canine for a variety of reasons. Most important, she would now be able to use less energy with daily grooming!
The Muttz Kuttz Team at the Kraft Street location in Clarksville, Tennessee, pose with Froggie:
Shanta Thompson, Stephanie, Froggie, and Jan Courteaux.
Dressed to match her Handler/Owner, Froggie sits politely while waiting for one more photo before heading out the door of Muttz Kuttz to go home.
Unbeknown to her, a large rawhide bone was waiting for her.
Breaking a new barrier, on the same day, Froggie picked up a dropped credit card in an office supply store and handed it to her Handler politely. This was just the beginning; learning it was quite all right to retrieve items outside of her inner environment. On October 1, Froggie retrieved a dropped spice bottle in a grocery store and again handed it to her Handler. The latter interesting because a woman with two young children stood nearby quietly waiting and watching. Froggie continued to make the attempt and after succeeding, the woman explained to her children, "See, that is a working dog".
Not everything in life is work ~ there is always time for relaxation!
Froggie on board Tunica River Boat Cruising on the Mississippi
October 14, 2008
My First Cruise on the Island Princess
January 2009
When seeing the hustle of suitcases being packed I began wondering if I was going to be left behind because my suitcase didn't appear for several days. What a relief to finally see the suitcase come out from the closet and know I was going along with my human, who I have never been away from and really started to worry! Then I heard someone say something about a cruise and for some reason that word sounded a little familiar. I really didn't care where we were going; I just worried about being separated, but my human Mom told me not to worry and when we met with Mary Adams for her to fit me with new bandana's, I knew something neat was going to happen on this travel. We drove for a long time for three days, stopping to meet with friends along the way and I finally got to see Trooper in Orlando, then his human Dad went with us to ask Alex at Bike Works to put a new tube in Mom's manual wheelchair tire. It sure felt good to get out of the car-van and walk around while Alex repaired the tire. That night, Mom told me there would only be one more day of driving; what she didn't tell me was that I would have yet another bath before going on a much larger ship and cruising on the ocean for several days. What she didn't tell me was I would stay on the ship while she visited five different lands!
On January 13, 2009, Mom drove into a big port called "The Everglades" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after spending another night in a hotel. She stopped and talked to someone in a cage - I think she was lost because the man in the cage told her where to drive. Then, the next thing I knew, we stopped again and a big bus in back of us honked his horn. I barked at the bus as loud as I could, telling him to cool it, but Mom scolded me and I lied back down. A nice man came up to the car-van and I watched him very carefully while he talked with Mom, then he walked away while we just sat there in the car-van, after he asked Mom to move the car just a few inches. To my surprise, he came back, removed the entire luggage, and then got inside the car-van. Mom drove around and around a parking lot, very similar to many places I've been with her, until she found a space to park the car-van. The man was name "Porter" and he helped my human Mom to a place called a "Terminal" after she parked and locked the car.
Inside this Terminal, both of us were searched. Now that kind of made me wonder exactly what was going on - were these doctors or something? ARF! I wanted to tell them to keep their hands off my vest! ARF! Mom's cameras were taken away from her and then we went through some sort of barricade and equipment I could not understand; the humans gave us back the cameras and escorted us to a place where there were other humans waiting. When I saw some other wheelers, I knew everything would be okay. In just a few short minutes, another human came up to us and I heard Mom's signal to get up and go with her. The next thing I knew, I was following someone onto the biggest ship I had ever seen! Humans called "Crew" and "Stewards" took us to a room called "Stateroom" and to my surprise, Mom's luggage was inside this stateroom, including my suitcase! "Woof!" I was sure happy to see everything there! Mom fixed me a bowl of water and then said, "Let's go check things out!" I wondered what "things" she was talking about as we headed back out of the hallway and then took an elevator to another floor called "Deck". By this time, I was hearing words I had not heard very often before and just starting to figure out what then meant. The word "Steward" actually meant "Elmer Mendoza" who helped my human Mom with a lot of things. The humans called "Staff" could be most anyone from "Mr. Bobs to Julio or Felipe" and several others I met who wore special suits. "Passengers" were humans just like my Mom traveling on this same ship.
I think we went to Deck 14 where there were a lot of things happening, music was being played by humans called a "band" and many humans were dancing. I think it was Julio Soto, Junior Assistant Cruise Director from the Cruise Staff, who offered me a pink ticket for a drawing, but I shyly pulled away because I knew I was not supposed to "take" anything unless my human Mom told me too. On the same day, another human showed me where my box was for my potty patrol, but I was more interested in what the noises where coming from below the stairwell and would not listen to Mom's commands.
On the next day, Cruise Captain Mr. Bobs arranged to have my box moved to my own private room one deck above the one where our room was located, complete with a live potted plant for me to sniff, but then my human Mom pulled out her camera to take a picture of me. WHAT? I just stood there and grinned real big for her. NO WAY! BARK!!
I didn't have to work very hard and it sure was a lot easier for me to help my human Mom out of bed every morning. I went every place Mom did and met a lot of people. We often looked at the ocean and I wondered if the ship was going to be our permanent home. It was starting to look that way with Mom going to dinner every night; I thought it was kind of neat to go all the way under the dinner table and hide beneath the table cloth. ARF! I don't think Mom knew I was in there backwards and watching the other humans! We spent a lot of time talking to many passengers who often mentioned my name or would ask to touch me. Sometimes, Mom would let them.
On our second night, Julio Soto, Junior Assistant Cruise Director, was in the Wheelhouse after dinner when we arrived and asked to play with me. When I heard my human Mom say, "Go for it", I did, and wrestled Mister Julio to the floor!
I pinned him down and Mister Julio was laughing so hard, he could not hardly breath while other passengers laughed too, so I thought it was all right, but then I heard my human Mom say, "That's enough" and I knew I had to stop.
We sailed on the sea for over two days then I heard my human Mom talking to another person named Rusty Wilson who would always come up to me to say hello. He asked her if he could keep me while my Mom went to shore on the island of Aruba, and I really became very worried because I did not understand when she would come back. Mom tried to explain to me why I could not go with her, but she didn't understand I just wanted to know when she would be back. On January 16, the Island Princess, (hey, this ship has one of MY names!), pulled in to dock at Oranjestad at the island of Aruba.
Mister Rusty came to get me and I was just a little leery, but Mom told me to, "Go with Mister Rusty", so I did. He took me off the ship and into a different terminal I had not seen before and then we went outside. Suddenly, I spied my human Mom inside a vehicle being driven away. She waved at me and it just made me feel worse, but Mister Rusty took me for a long walk until I needed to rest and then invited me inside his stateroom where I just laid on the floor and pouted until I saw him messing with some camera equipment.
If there is anything I do understand, it is the flash of a light from an object called a camera. When I saw him messing around with the camera, I knew right away he was fixing the settings for a photo of the two of us together. I think he told me to get up on his bed, but was not sure if he used the same command Mom would have used. I must have done the right thing because after the first picture, he lied down next to me for us to have our picture taken together and right at the exact moment, I decided to give him a big smooch!
I'm not even sure when Mom got back; I was tired and just wanted to rest, but I had a lot of fun that day with Mister Rusty. We sailed on the ocean some more and Mister Elmer helped me help my human Mom. When we stopped at another land, Mister Elmer would keep me company while Mom was gone. I liked Mister Elmer too and when he laughed at me, I would just cock my head and look at him. One day, he was leaving our stateroom and I barked at him when Mom was gone. He opened the door back up and asked me if I wanted to go potty. BARK BARK! Mister Elmer rode the elevator with me and Mom wasn't there with her camera. Woof!
We arrived at the Panama Canal and I went with Mom to help her take photos. I really still don't understand what the Panama Canal is and when I saw that land right next to the ship I could not figure out why the ship was still moving. I think the ship must have wheels like my human Mom's wheelchair, but she didn't get off the ship for a while. Mister Elmer came outside after a short while to check on us and Mom took a picture of him. (Now he knows how I feel when she wants to take a picture of me!) Later, I got to spend time with him again. He was my buddy whenever Mom left taking me for short walks until Mom came back. Sometimes, he would open the door and just peek in at me in the stateroom and say, "Hi Froggie", and when he took his break from work he would watch television with me too.
On this big ship, my human Mom would sometimes get lost and I would try to guide her to where she wanted to go. I was learning very quickly which places she had to be and even memorized the time. I met a lot of nice humans called people and could not help but want to give them a hug because they were so special.
Fran and Peter Herrick were special humans; Fran spent time visiting us and helped get me water to drink from a small ice cream cup. I was very careful and did not knock the cup over until one day when I couldn't resist chasing after some ice inside of it, but I didn't get scolded because we were on something called a "pool deck".
While the ship sailed back to Florida, Mom ordered me to sit still to have my picture taken in my special room. I think she must have lost her mind because she NEVER took a picture of me when I went to the box outside at home. In fact, she just told me to "hurry up". I guess there was something special about the box on the ship - I don't know, but I decided to listen to her stern words and not move until she told me too.
On the day we arrived back in Florida, Julio Soto and Felipe Carvac asked my human Mom to take a photo of us together. I wanted to play, but she finally got me to sit still long enough for one last flash of light.
I had a lot of fun on this cruise and all the humans were very nice to me. When my human Mom was escorted to get our luggage, we walked past a long line of passengers and I could hear my name being called, but Mom just kept telling me to follow the man in front, so I didn't have a chance to say "good-bye". I will miss all of them, but maybe someday I will go on another cruise and see them again.
Basic (Boot Camp) Training
(Commands Accomplished in less than Two Weeks by Handler/Owner)
Name Recognition
Potty Patrol (House-broken)
Sleeps in Own Bed Overnight - No Longer Using Kennel
One Call to Report for Duty
Sits and Waits for Command to Eat
Takes Biscuit Without Over Enthusiasm
Waits on Command
Sits on Command
Stays on Command
Leaves Items Alone on Command; Recognizes Her own Belongings
Walks on Command; Taking Lead Only When Necessary
Scales Heights (appropriate for canine's size)
Alerts Handler
Accomplished Basic Training - January 31, 2008
(20-Weeks Old; 39-Pounds, 20 ½-Inches Tall at the Withers)
Retrieves Harness and Takes to Handler
Readily Adapted to Collar; No longer wears harness except for potty patrols at home
Remains "at ease" with head and body in a lay down position when Handler eats
Willingly Enters Vehicle via lift and Retreats to Cargo Area when Traveling on Road
Retired from Kennel; Full Run of Residence
Sleeps next to Wheelchair; Allowed on Bed if Desired
Remains at Attention for Grooming
Sits or Lays Down Next to Wheelchair when in Places of Public Accommodation
Respects Service Animal Vest as Uniform in Public; Behaves Accordingly
Advancement - March 11, 2008
(6-Months Old; 47.7 pounds, 23-Inches Tall at the Withers)
Potty on Command
Stays in Bed until Handler Awakens
Displays Friendly Association with People, Canines and Veterinarian
Waits to Enter Vehicle on Command; Goes to Designated Position
Waits Appropriately to Leave Vehicle on Command
Graduated to 1-inch wide Collar and matching Lead
Displays Appropriate Behavior in Variety of Public Accommodations
Advancement - September 11, 2008
(12-Months Old; 61 pounds, 24-Inches Tall at the Withers)
Retrieves Leash on Command
Stays Close to Handler at All Times
Remains in "Lay-Down" Position during Handler's Appointments
Waits Patiently for First Morning Potty Patrol
Task Performance
Retrieves Items Dropped and Gives to Handler
Takes Item from Individual/Handler and Gives to Individual/Handler on Command
Alerts Handler when Someone Approaches Residence
Aggressively Alerts Handler when Suspecting Danger
Allows Handler to Use Her Body as Brace
Disposition & Character - Age 12 Months
Allows Handler to Remove Food while Eating
Turns Loose of Edible Item and Willing Gives to Handler
Approaches another Canine Gently; Not Aggressive
Extremely Attached and Watchful of Handler
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