KING OLLIE HOUSE of BULLDOG
Well-known member
Ollie had his second night of school on Wednesday He did much better. He was less distractible. There was a little glitch in that I forgot to buy Brie. I cut up small pieces of an English Cheddar. Evidently even though he and my husband are English, Ollie likes the imported French Brie and not the imported cheddar of his ancestors. The trainer gave me some treats she had. He was somewhat underwhelmed by them, but did work for them. We were working on performing for free (empty hand) and Ollie was pretty cool with that. We did SIT and DOWN, then DOWN with no sit. WALK WITH ME (we donāt use HEEL because evidently that means something to show ring dogs and we have that show Shelti in class). We learned TOUCH (Iām confused why we do this. Maybe to focus dog and move him from front facing to the side of us?) This is tricky for me because of my hands, but eventually we get the job done. We did the OPEN DOOR, SIT and WAIT thing and Ollie was perfect. Outside we did the WALK WITH ME FAST thing, TOUCH and TURN, repeat over and over fast. Ollie was great. We finished and I was exhausted. Remember that Ollie does all of this on a leash attached to my waist. The trainer, as we left, told me, āYou and Ollie are the bravest people I know. A lot of people wouldnāt have the guts.ā Sheās really nice.
Our home work was to take Ollie everywhere I go. The next morning We started off by going to my neurologistās office to get a letter stating that I have a medical condition that requires the assistance of a service animal and that he will perform specific tasks for me. This letter IS NOT required by law, but I want Ollie to carry it in his saddle bag. I know that after we go through all of this, if some ignorant employee or person challenges us, I will either start crying or start throwing the F Bomb. Those are the only tools in my arsenal. Everyone at the doctorās office respected the SERVICE DOG and DO NOT PET patches Ollie wears. My doctor was very happy to meet Ollie.
Our next stop was to Publix grocery store. Ollie appeared a bit intimidated by the size of the store. He has always stuck right by my side which is helpful with the training John pushed the cart and we walked beside him. I imagine all those smells in the store were overwhelming to Ollie. We were good until we neared the Sushi counter. There were two Asian women there loading the cases with sushi. One woman got all excited upon seeing Ollie, smiling and laughing. She reached out to pet him and I pointed to his DO NOT Pet sign. She said something I couldnāt understand and the other lady tried to give him a piece of raw salmon. I pulled him away while they were both smiling and nodding. The rest of Publix was uneventful.
That night we had a meeting. I meet every week with a group of women. We all sat in a circle, no tables. No one knew about Ollieās training. I did a brief explanation of what weāre doing. Everyone was very cool about it. Ollie immediately got in a down position and stayed. I was so impressed. After about 30 minutes he let out some huge snores. So I guess his easy down was mostly about a nap, but Iāll take what I can get. He stayed there for over an hour. Then, he got up, stretched, did a 360 turn around and sat there looking at everyone for the the last thirty minutes.
All in all, we had a great week. Our next private service work session is on Tuesday.
Our home work was to take Ollie everywhere I go. The next morning We started off by going to my neurologistās office to get a letter stating that I have a medical condition that requires the assistance of a service animal and that he will perform specific tasks for me. This letter IS NOT required by law, but I want Ollie to carry it in his saddle bag. I know that after we go through all of this, if some ignorant employee or person challenges us, I will either start crying or start throwing the F Bomb. Those are the only tools in my arsenal. Everyone at the doctorās office respected the SERVICE DOG and DO NOT PET patches Ollie wears. My doctor was very happy to meet Ollie.
Our next stop was to Publix grocery store. Ollie appeared a bit intimidated by the size of the store. He has always stuck right by my side which is helpful with the training John pushed the cart and we walked beside him. I imagine all those smells in the store were overwhelming to Ollie. We were good until we neared the Sushi counter. There were two Asian women there loading the cases with sushi. One woman got all excited upon seeing Ollie, smiling and laughing. She reached out to pet him and I pointed to his DO NOT Pet sign. She said something I couldnāt understand and the other lady tried to give him a piece of raw salmon. I pulled him away while they were both smiling and nodding. The rest of Publix was uneventful.
That night we had a meeting. I meet every week with a group of women. We all sat in a circle, no tables. No one knew about Ollieās training. I did a brief explanation of what weāre doing. Everyone was very cool about it. Ollie immediately got in a down position and stayed. I was so impressed. After about 30 minutes he let out some huge snores. So I guess his easy down was mostly about a nap, but Iāll take what I can get. He stayed there for over an hour. Then, he got up, stretched, did a 360 turn around and sat there looking at everyone for the the last thirty minutes.
All in all, we had a great week. Our next private service work session is on Tuesday.