Tuesday Training report-feeding a rescued dog for healthy weight gain

This is Mary, jumping in with a review of our training and adventures from the human perspective. For those of you who read for the "stories" because you love us, you may want to skip this one. I'm also using this blog for others, like myself, who explore service dog blogs in the process of deciding whether or not to bring a dog into their own lives.

Last week's successes were very important to my morale. . . the week before I'd had a couple of remarks that felt like criticism of Snuffie's behavior and my training (or how long it was taking my precious pup to learn). That's part of the ups and downs, particularly with owner-training.

Snuffie has been with me for six and a half weeks at this point. I found a 63 pound shaggy pup who played ball, liked men, women and children, rode well in a car, got along with dogs, cats and horses, and was sensitive enough that a three-year-old could walk him on a leash without being pulled over. He passed a temperament test with flying colors so I had his hips x-rayed to make sure he could handle the balance work I need when my legs are acting up, and had him neutered (required by GA law before a rescue pet can be released) at the same time to avoid having him under anesthesia twice in a week. I was actually glad that he was still intact until the growth plates in his bones closed. From what I've read, that helps with healthy joints.

Snuffie's first vet visit (Tuesday after arrival) he weighed in at 63 pounds with all his shaggy glory. Three weeks ago I had him in because he had a bad case of diarrhea- probably grass or some weed he ate, but I was in the process of switching him from a basic kibble to a grain-free one. (He was also scratching at his ears quite a bit- probably seasonal allergies, but possibly related to diet.) At that visit, Snuffie weighed 59 pounds- a bit dehydrated? He'd definitely lost a bit of weight when we shaved off most of his hair the week after he arrived. (You've seen those pictures already.) That was still the wrong direction to be heading! I increased his food, and cut down on our walks a bit.

I took him by the vet's office today- just to get a weight: 66.4 pounds! Our goal-from his vet- is 70 pounds and then we re-evaluate. When Snuffie got here, he was thin even with all the hair. Shaved, his hip bones protruded enough that I could rest my hand in the depression between them and still be below level! Now my handsome boy has muscles there- you can see the bones, but he doesn't look like he's all bone, and he's got very nice muscle structure on his legs. I'll keep him lean for joint health, but for now we're still on the weight-gain program.

Snuffie's diet: 4 1/2 cups of kibble (Earthborn Holistics) every day -split into two meals (except for what he gets as training treats during the day) plus other training treats such as cheese, chicken and meatballs chopped into small bites- mostly just enough for him to taste and enjoy- combined with a mile or two of walking and at least half an hour of play time every day. I add a tablespoon or so of live culture yogurt to his kibble once a day to provide good intestinal flora. Too much and his stools get soft, but he does seem to do better with a spoonful every day or so. Once he reaches target weight, I'll probably cut his kibble back a bit so he can still have his special treats without getting too many calories.
Snuffie LOVES strawberries, but those have to be limited or he gets diarrhea again. Rice seems to do him well, so I mix that in with his kibble when we have it. I am experimenting with other fruits and vegetables, but had to slow down with that to figure out what works in his system. The stuffed pocket sandwich (whole wheat crust with broccoli and vegan ham and cheese alternatives) he snitched from the counter (ooops!) didn't seem to bother him, but he still doesn't get those regularly, much as he'd like to help me eat mine.

I NEVER feed him directly from the table, that's "begging" for begging behaviors and absolutely unacceptable for a service dog! Most of the time Snuffie eats his meals from Kongs. They slow him down so he's not scarfing his food. Sometimes I fill and freeze them the night before, so it takes him 15-20 minutes to eat 3/4 cup of food. Most of the time I measure out his two cups for that meal and keep refilling the Kong while I work at my computer. Snuffie has learned to sit quietly and watch me while I fill the Kong, then go to his mat and lay down until I give it to him. (Eventually I want to teach him to bring the empty Kong back to me for refills and to the sink to be washed when the meal is over, but for now I'm happy with a polite request for a refill.)
In the morning, the cat gets her breakfast while Snuffie and I go out for our morning walk. Snuffie eats when we get back, even if I'm not hungry yet. In the evening he has to wait until the family has finished dinner before he gets his. I'm not terribly worried about "dominance" behaviors from feeding him before we eat, but I need him to be able to settle and stay quiet while we eat so he's got that down for restaurant meals. I did try feeding him before we went in for our restaurant dinners this weekend, but he wasn't ready. Guess the routine is set that we eat first. :-)

In many ways, I feel like I have a toddler again- proofing the house for safety, watching the bowel movements for food allergies, keeping his two-year-old brain active in constructive ways to keep him out of trouble, comparing things with other "parents," and laughing at his antics. Not to mention carrying a "diaper" bag and needing twice as long to do everything, and having to plan our outings meticulously. It is SO very worth it to have Snuffie in my life.

(Thanks to my sister-in-law, Lisa Moss, for today's photos!)

Haircuts and scary things

This is a picture of me, before Miss Bonnie gave me a haircut. Mom thinks I got my name because I look like Mr. Snuffleupagus, Big Bird's friend- especially when my hair was long. Eliza and Samuel think I look like someone named ALF. I don't care. Mom loves me and I love my new home. 

This is what I look like now. I was supervising Mom and James picking strawberries this morning.

I am much cooler with my new haircut, and it's MUCH easier for Mom to give me a bath. (Besides that, I got tired of having her trying to untangle my curls all the time.)

I'm really looking forward to not having to wear a leash all the time. Do you see that bottle on the sidewalk? It got tangled in my leash and tried to eat me! That's not as bad as Saturday morning! I was just trying to help Mom and Chris set up our pavilion when Mom's little table jumped on me and then chased me and pulled on my leash when I tried to run away. It was really scary and I ran really fast to get away from it. I didn't know where I was or who all those people were. I got away from the table by running out onto the open field. I was so glad to hear Mom call my name! She gave me lots of loves when I came running back to her. She made the table sit back by the fence and stay away from me after I got to sniff it. (I like to sniff things to make sure they're not really dangerous. I think I would've been fine without this darn leash. What do I have to do to get rid of it? I love to run in the Colonel's yard and to play in Tommy and Andrew's yard with them. I don't have to wear my leash inside their fences.)

Restaurants!

Of all the places I've gone with Mom, she kept me away from the best ones! But this weekend I finally got to go to TWO restaurants!
Friday night we had dinner on the patio of a Mexican restaurant. It was my first restaurant. I was REALLY good! I had lots of room to stretch out in our corner, but it took me a few minutes to figure out where my place was. We had been riding in the car FOREVER so I wasn't hungry before we went in, and all those good food smells made me hungry, but I stayed in my place-even when one of the waitresses came up to pet me! James stopped her, but she kept talking to me. It was hard, but I stayed still and watched Mom. She gave me lots of pets and told me I was wonderful (of course I am!) when that girl left. I think everyone who worked there came out to make sure Mom and James were taken care of- or just to admire me. I heard Mom tell James I was less disruptive than that little girl who was squealing while her grownups ate. I'm learning!
Saturday was even better! I got stay INSIDE a STEAKHOUSE! Mom says that doesn't happen very often, because my family doesn't eat meat (silly people!). Saturday night we went out for dinner with our friends Ernie and Chris, and they DO eat meat. It can be hard to fit under a table when you're as big as I am, and I had to shift around to find a way to curl up without laying on the lumpy table legs, but I did it! It was scary when people moved around or walked up and I couldn't see what was going on, but I got used to it. It was really hard to smell all that good food and not get to eat any of it, but Ernie saved me some of his steak and Mom gave it to me as a treat. (He also knows just how a dog loves to have his ears rubbed, and made sure I got plenty of water with ice in it when we were outside during that hot day.) I love Ernie! Chris says she wants to dognap me- but that wouldn't be nice. And besides, I'm always with Mom. If I didn't already have a furever home, I could live with them.

These are pictures of me, practicing being small, so Mom will take me back to the steakhouse! (I have to do something while she's typing on the computer.)

Super Snuffie goes to Court

Mom says I had a wonderful week last week. I know we were very busy.
Thursday we went to a big building called "Court." I told Mom before we went in that I needed to go potty, and she found me a great spot. I stood very still while she cleaned up my mess, and then we found a trash can for the yucky bag. We walked around outside and then went through big doors. I did very well walking right beside Mom, and held still when the little kid came running down the hall and got scared because I am as big as he is. Then I stood still again when Mom gave the men my backpack AND MY TREATS- they gave them back after we walked around the tunnel. We got an escort all the way downstairs. Did they think I don't know how to behave? Or maybe they wanted to make sure that German Shepherd didn't come running to play with me?
I was very good while we waited to go into our room. I did puppy push-ups in lots of places. I made a new friend, Elizabeth. She is six, and was very impressed with my push-ups. She is the only one Mom let pet me, even though lots of people watched me walking around. I am very handsome. I think people are not used to seeing golden dogs like me. Maybe it is my impressive red vest? Or the way I hold my head and tail when I'm prancing?

I'm getting very good at riding on elevators. They used to scare me, but now I just stand very still and wait for the ride to be over. I can even move over to make room for other people when the elevator gets crowded.
When we got called into our room, Mom had to juggle my backpack and get my towel so I would know where to lay down, but I was VERY good. (Sometimes I wiggle and she gives me more treats to help me remember what I'm doing. I've got her very well trained, haven't I?) All the people stood up when the man came into the room and sat in the big chair. I stayed still for that. We waited by the benches for another case to be heard, and then that man went down the hall. While he was gone we got to go sit at the big desks in the front. Mom got to sit beside the desk so I would have plenty of room to lay down. I was very quiet crunching my treats. She says I won't get treats most of the time, but I'm still practicing my down-stays so I get treats to help me remember to stay still. (Didn't I tell you I've got her trained?)
I lay very quietly the whole time they were talking to the man in the big chair, but when the lady said "All rise" again, I figured it was time for me to stand up, too. The man behind the big chair stopped! "I didn't know there was a dog in the room!" Ms. Pam told Mom I was wonderful. Mom was really happy, too. I was so excited I went to follow Ms. Wanda out of the room. Oops. . . I wasn't supposed to leave without Mom. Oh, well. That's why I'm still in training.
Ms. Pam was really impressed at how well I'm doing, and it hadn't even been six weeks yet! Even better, Ms. Pam told Mom about a gym where I can go play "Agility" and make new friends. I can't wait!

Welcome!

Hello! James says we need a gathering spot for my (Snuffie's) ever increasing fan club, so this is it. This will be a place to discuss service dog selection and training, to laugh about the challenges of life with a service animal (much like having a toddler in tow!), to celebrate accomplishments, brainstorm solutions, and highlight other animals who make a difference to the lives of others around them.


Mom had been having health issues since August of 2011 (or earlier- depending on how you define it) and decided to get a service dog to help her. It takes a special kind of dog and lots of training to be a service dog! It was a bit more complicated than it could have been because James and Aunt Lisa are allergic to most dogs, so she needed a dog that wouldn't make them sick. We want to go play with Aria and Evan-and their dogs- lots. (Did you know Evan wrote a book about service dogs when he was only 7? He did! My Seizure Dog- you can get it here! That's how he raised the money to get his own special partner.) There is a great organization nearby that trains service dogs, but they couldn't promise Mom any specific breed. Another organization only trains poodles but that was going to require driving several hours each way for lots of trips for training before the dog could come home with Mom. While checking out the training organizations, Mom was also watching for a rescue dog that could be trained to be her service partner.

I, Snuffie, am a two-year-old (or so) doodle (poodle mix) of unknown origin. Early in 2012 I was found wandering the streets of western GA. The little girl who found me thought I looked like Mr. Snuffleupagus, Big Bird's friend, so I got my new name. Her parents spent a couple of weeks trying to find my old family, and then turned me over to Miss Gail at Posey Shelter Pet Promoters. Miss Gail listed me on Petfinders, Miss Susan saw that and posted it on Oodles of Doodles, and Mom sent Miss Gail an email as soon as she saw it. Miss Gail thought I was such a special gentleman and needed a special job to do. Mom's trainer friend, Miss Terry, sent Miss Gail a temperament test to give me. I passed with flying colors. (Why did she pop open the umbrella when it wasn't raining?) Then I went to the vet for x-rays. (I think they did something else while I was asleep. It hurt "down there" when I woke up.) Then I got to take a long ride in a truck with lots of other dogs and the folks at PETS LLC took great care of me. I was so happy to meet Mom, but not so happy to have to get in the car for more driving.

I'm glad to be here. We eat and take long walks and eat and play ball and eat and learn things and eat and go for rides and mostly I sleep while Mom works on the computer.