Service Dog

If you're a regular Smart Dog Blog reader, you know how vigilant I am about socializing Talos. Take a look at this week's calendar:

• Frederick Community College for a business meeting
• Shopping at Costco
• trip to the bank to make deposits
• visit the hair salon for my hair cut
• doggie daycare (twice)
• Out and About class in downtown Frederick and
• Arlington National Cemetery

This dog gets out. I've rearranged my schedule to afford him socialization opportunities, and I can see the results. He's an even-tempered, easy going, laid-back dog.

Until.

Until you ask him to lay quietly in a very quiet room. You may remember my ill-fated library trip a few weeks ago. And the analysis of my reaction and Talos' not-so-stellar behavior. 

So the meeting we attended today started off great: I took Talos through the breakfast buffet line and he managed to keep his head off the table and out of the bacon dish. (That is no small victory!)

We found a spacious location and he immediately laid on his mat. I'm pleasantly surprised- this is going so well!No bacon off the buffet and he's going to lay down?! Fantastic.

Yeah. Right.

Until the entire room gets quiet and the emcee begins to talk. Talos begins his own speech. Except it's in dog-language and he's not even on topic.

Being the resourceful trainer I am, I took the opportunity to play the "target my hand" game and he did fine with that for three minutes. Then he went right back to talking. Or singing. Or whatever it is that he does when the room is as quiet as a tomb. 

We took a quick walk around the campus of Frederick Community College, which gave us even more socialization experiences. He'd never run across people in hoodies with backpacks. What were these strange creatures? He stood, mesmerized, for a good two minutes – keeping an eye on these new beings. He gave a couple "buuufs" – not real barks, but rather some exploratory vocalizations, I think to see if these new things would react to him. At 8:00a, these kids didn't even notice him, let alone react to him. There was also campus construction so lots of noise, dust, and machinery. He took it all in, calmly for the most part.

So while I missed some of my meeting, Talos got a lot out of the morning. Again, I am reminded that there's a lot more to socializing a service dog than just mere exposure to different things. I still need to work on his relaxing – quietly! – in a quiet room. Ah, the training never ends…

Talos' appearance at the fundraiser at the Dogfish Head Ale House was a success! We stayed about three hours and met lots of nice people. I even met another Great Dane owner and we commiserated about the amount of drool that comes out of a Dane's mouth immediately after drinking. (Not a conversation for the faint of heart, let me tell you.)

Talos did a fine job meeting and greeting everyone, especially the children. He's a big kisser and I feel the need to warn every mother and her kids that if they want to pet Talos, a kiss is part of the deal! Most kids think it's funny and collapse into a fit of giggles. As you might imagine, that tickles Talos and he kisses more. It's a vicious cycle — kisses, giggles, more kisses, more giggles.

Things we need to work on: getting Talos to go under the tables. He relaxes comfortably – in the middle of the aisle. Patrons and servers are required to step around him. And he's not even big yet! It's a skill he can learn, fitting himself into small spaces, I guess I didn't realize how important that skill will be, especially since he's going to be a big dog.

He got a bit tired toward the end of our time there and decided my foot would be a good pillow. He promptly fell asleep on my boot. Still in the aisle, now just very cute.

The event was another great socialization experience for us. We alternated between being surrounded by people and kids (one of whom found Talos' tail fascinating and made different shapes with his tail!) and being all alone at a table while I ate lunch. Outside the restaurant, there was a lot of traffic, honking horns, loud trucks and even pedestrians. It was a bonanza!

We met so many nice folks, including the servers at the Dogfish Head Ale House. It was a great day for Talos and for Service Dogs of Virginia. A big thank you to Ella for inviting us and being so kind and gracious.

Talos has skyrocketed to popularity (pupularity?) since his debut on the Blog. Because of his wicked popularity, Talos will be making an appearance at the Dogfish Head Ale House today during the lunchtime hour.

(Well, it's not really due to his popularity, but rather that he's close by and had nothing else on his calendar. But don't tell him that – he likes to think he's got a little somethin'.)

So come out and see us – we'll be there for lunch (you'll raise money for the service dog organization, too – it's a win-win!). The Dogfish Head will donate 15% of it's proceeds for the day to Service Dogs of Virginia.

Come for lunch, come for dinner. You'll be able to take advantage of (during the evening hours) great silent auction items and chance drawings
for sporting event tickets, concert tickets, Knoll “Life” chair,
personal tour of WJLA ABC 7, art, handyman services, hotel package, spa
package, personal chef and many more!!

There may even be a few local celebrities stopping by to support SDV!! (Other than Talos, that is.)

And don’t forget about the live music from 9:00p -11:00p!

This all-day event will give everyone a chance to come by for lunch,
dinner, or later…and have a chance to meet real service dogs and learn
more about SDV!

Talos is looking forward to receiving your pets, accolades, and attention! (Unless he's asleep, in which case, he won't even know you were there.)

Ever tried napping with a Great Dane pup? A lively, energetic, not-even-close-to-tired Great Dane pup?

I'm here to tell you, it ain't easy.

Heck, I don't even think it's possible.

I just found this video while I was organizing my files (yeah, because I have that kind of time). Since this video was taken (back in early August), I've actually managed to nap with him.

I crawled onto the couch after he was already fast asleep. Hey, don't knock it – it worked!

Until he woke up and jumped on me. Enjoy the video:

In our efforts to get Talos exposed (in a friendly way) to as many experiences as possible, we attended Frederick's First Saturday over the weekend. The weather was beautiful, and the streets were packed with people, exhibits, musicians, artists, and dogs. It was the perfect environment for a service dog in training to get some new experiences.

Not to be left out, Nemo decided to make an appearance as well. He enjoyed himself as well, but didn't handle the crowds and noise nearly as well as pup Talos.

Talos has seen city streets before, but never this crowded. He's heard music before, but never live music, and not on the street. He's socialized with children before, but has never been surrounded by them. When exposing a dog to new experiences, it's crucial to let the dog tell you when he's comfortable…and when he's not. If the dog is uncomfortable, it's important to recognize those signals, and get the dog out of the situation.

As you can see from the following videos, Talos was feeling pretty good, pretty relaxed in the company of these kids, despite the music, the traffic, and the crowds. It was a spectacular evening in downtown, made even better by his easy-going attitude about all that was going on around him.

"Why does she have to bring that dog here?"

"Does she always have to be the center of attention?"

"Not everyone likes being around dogs – why does she think she's special?"

"Does she have to take that dog everywhere with her?"

Though whispered, these are the comments I hear frequently when taking Talos in public. I'm sure there are even more comments, worse comments, that I don't hear. I can tell by the looks that people give us, they'd rather we not be where they are.

I don't take Talos in public to tick people off. I don't take him so I can get extra attention. I don't take him because I want to make people uncomfortable. I take Talos in public despite all those things.

I explain it this way: Talos will have total access to public places when he's paired with his person who is disabled. Would you rather Talos experience strange, perhaps scary things now – with me, who can hang onto him if he spooks, calm him when he's afraid – or when he's with his person (and he's topped out at 160 pounds), someone who will not have the ability to control him if he's startled?

Sometimes it's a pain in the neck to have a dog with me. My trips take a lot longer, I have to carry a lot more equipment with me, I have to be ready to leave if Talos isn't settling in quietly, and I'm constantly on duty – teaching him. 

Don't feel sorry for me, I volunteer for this. But don't think I'm doing it to garner attention,  or to mess up your day, or because I think I'm special.

I'm doing it for the dog, who needs to have hundreds of hours of public experience so he's calm and collected no matter what's happening around him.

I'm doing it for the person who will eventually be paired with Talos – so he (or she) can have an easier day, an easier life. So he won't have to worry with a cane or a walker. So he'll feel the independence that comes from having a balance dog.

So when you see us in public, and you're frustrated because you have to walk around the crowd that's gathered, or because it takes me a minute longer to gather my purchases and hold onto an adolescent Great Dane, just smile and walk around us. We're not doing it on purpose.