Category — Megan-Kate’s Animal Behaviors

Will this little guy be a match for me?

Today I am going to look at another pup!  This one is named Noah!  He is a 12-week-old Border Collie / Great Pyrenees mix… maybe.  From what I understand is he has a lovely calm demeanor and might be the right fit for my needs!   After work I’ll be taking my boyfriend’s dog and heading to do his temperament test.  The rescue is only about 30-45min away. (yay for being so close!) I am so lucky that they are willing to wait for me to get off work today and hold him for me!  I’ll let everyone know how it goes and take pictures of him if he is the right pup for the job.  I really hope I can tell you all, “I have finally found my match!”

Some of you may or may not know that I am legally disabled and due to my disabilities I require the use of a service dog, now and again.  This past January I lost my service dog, Hurley, due to kidney failure.  He was my service dog for nine years.  I adopted him from a rescue at 9 weeks of age and his training began that very day.  It took a few years to get him 100% and from there he has traveled all over the United States with me.  Delta loved having him travel, despite his intimidating size, because he was so good with the kids on the plane.  It was always a cry free flight, when Hurley was on board!

Hurley – My service dog for nine years.

Since Hurley’s passing I have known that I would need to get a new service dog to start training as soon as possible.  I also knew that I needed a little bit of time before I would be ready.

The last month or so I have been looking for my “match.”  I have looked at two different puppies and neither has been quite right or they would potentially not reach the size I will require for mobility support.  The dog that I am looking for needs to be around 3 feet tall, at the shoulder, so I can put my full weight on him/her.  They will need to be sturdy and strong.  As far as temperament I need a dog that will be smart, loyal, calm, aware, able to easily deal with change, good with all kinds of people and animals.  This is not an easy task, if all dogs were like this they wouldn’t be in shelters…so finding the right rescue dog and being able to help the dog understand my needs and be willing to trust me in all situations is not the easiest accomplishment.

Tomorrow I will be going to a local rescue and doing a temperament test on a 7 month old pup that may be right for me.  If he is I will post lots of pictures and if he’s not I’ll hope he gets adopted quickly!  Wish me luck and be thinking of names as I may need some help!

Klyde has access to his crate every morning.

Klyde’s crate conditioning is going very well!  Since my previous post, keepers have continued to work with him daily.  To start, each evening they would close off access into the crate, giving Klyde a break from seeing it through the night.  Then, in the morning, they would re-open it and he would find it contained his breakfast and extra treats.   Each day keepers moved more and more of his breakfast into the crate, creating an inviting space that allowed Klyde to feel comfortable and confident.  After several days, everyone felt they were at a point when no food needed to be offered in his other stalls except for in his crate.  This was no issue for Klyde, as every crate experience he has had thus far has been very positive.  He had no problem with his new designated feeding area.  Each morning the food would appear an inch further back in the crate, from the day before.  And every day, Klyde never even thought twice about his advancement into the crate.

Marjorie feeds Klyde in the crate.

By day nine, keeper Marjorie was able to stand outside the crate, toward the front and encourage him to come in as she tossed treats into his food pile to make every inch of progress as smooth as possible.  Days 10 and 11 were breakthrough days for Klyde’s progress – he decided that his crate was  really positive place to be and confidently walked in until he had all four feet in the crate!  He was still not quite close enough to hand feed but having all four feet in, making that step up into the crate was a HUGE progression and his keepers were thrilled.  Later on day 11 of training Marjorie decided to try one more quick session and attempted to get Klyde to walk in far enough to hand feed.  He finally did it!!  Marjorie was able to reach his lip and give him some of his favorite cookies for entering that far.

Box lunch?

We are all so excited about Klyde’s progress moving forward!  In the first 11 days of training it has gone far better than ever expected, but that’s what happens when keepers and animals have such a wonderful and positive relationship!  Klyde is willing and wanting to work with his keepers and his keepers are allowing him to move at his comfort level… setting him up for success is the most important part of training!