Returning to Temple and finding Victoria!

2010 has been a tale of Tails for this Dog Trainer. I have become nationally certified as a dog trainer with two nationally recognized organizations, been hired as a dog trainer for assistance dogs as well as the garden variety dog, and atended two professional dog training conferences. Whewwwwwwww. And yet there is so much more to learn and I suppose this is just a tip of the ice-berg. What compels me each day to bite off more of the training apple, as it were, is my personal quest to help communicate to the dog, to the client, and to better impress upon all the joys of communion and communication between the primate and the canine.

And lest I get caught up in the communion, let me take time to recognize the teachers of the trainers. Those special people that bring positive training to the fore. One such teacher is Ms. Temple Grandin who I had the privelege to meet not once but twice this year. Temple Grandin is a woman who has walked through baricades and doors to open up doors to understanding Canines as well as ourselves in the process. She has tackled the subjects of animals, communication, and Autism. She fights hard to let primates know that dogs do have emotions and she has the scientific evidence to prove it!

This years APDT conference held in the downtown Atlanta Hilton was home to Temple and to the Animal Planet's very own Victoria Stillwell, the host and dog trainer made famous in her series, "ITS ME OR THE DOG". I caught Victoria and Temple communing in the lobby between conference lecture halls. Their canine banter drew a crowd. Their words were pearls of understanding which strung togehter created a brilliant necklance of passion for dogs and communication between man and his favorite primates.

But these fine women were but a few of the impressive list of speakers that gave lectures at this year's 2010 APDT conference. Over 1200 attendees were present. I met trainers from all across the country and some even from Manilla in the Philipines.
Patricia McConnel and Suzanne Clothier, and the wise women at K-9 noseworks were among the highlights for me personally as well as the fabulous lectures given by Prof Horowitz, author of inside the Dog in addition to Victoria Stillwell and Temple Grandin.

The conference was a cauldron of all things dog. I heard testimony of new techniques to reduce anxiety in dogs, got samples of new tinctures to help ward off dog ailments, got free clicker to click at new dogs and old, gathered new training treats and plush toys, and stuffed more dog training literature into the strained threads of my bursting suitcase.

And it was all worth it. Especially Temple. Her special kind of pure enthusaism and passion for life and kindness and truth is contagious. A walk to her temple is as inspiring as any temple could be. I feel so blessed to have been lead to a life where I can afford an opportunity to better communication between species and see smiles and communion around me. What could be better?

Gabriel Turns Three!

Gabriel turned three years old today! It seems incomprehensible on some level that Gabriel has reached such a milestone, but given his recent acquiescence to loose leash walking on a daily basis in the wee hours of the morning before I have even had a chance to sip some warm caffeinated tea, I suppose he has earned his age! I find it marvelous that this gorgeous 143 pound Great Pyrenees would grant me such fluidity of movement and respect for my space before I am even awake enough to clearly communicate my needs and I see it as further indication of his growing maturity!. Three year marks the end of the traditional "adolescent" period in dogs, where mood shifts and behavioral changes arrive seemingly out of the ethers. A steadiness of behavior slinks into view. Its when the adolescent fades into adulthood a shifting into more of a stalwalrt boat, not a tipsy canoe.

Gabriel came into my life as I grieved the loss of my lovely nine year old Great Pyrenees Brewster, a dog of great beauty, both internal and external. I felt no one could replace him. Quite magically, Gabriel came to me via an email not forty eight hours after I contacted a Great Pyrenees Rescue organization. I had just arrived in Hawaii on vacation with my husband when In mere hours I received an email in response stating that a loving family needing to relocate was in need of a home for their one year old Great Pyrenees, Gabriel. Ironically, Hawaii is now home to Gabriel's original family who was in Texas at the time we adopted him.

Today, we marked Gabriel's birthday with a birthday Cake which we acquired at Santa Fe's very own Pooch Pantry. Gabriel preference and penchant is peanut butter, and so that is the flavor we ordered for his Pooch Pantry birthday cake which he and Sally put a sizable dent in both this morning and this evening. Pooch Pantry custom designs cakes for their client's canines with natural flavors and colors, made of only the finest of ingredients. Judging from the promptness of Gabriel and Sally's response to my cues after a biteful of this delicious cake, I can conveniently state, that this cake is state of the art!

I find it remarkable that Gabriel came as quickly into my life as he did... that he came into our lives oon the heels of my lovely dog's demise was remarkable enough. More remarkable still is his name. Gabriel was named after archangel Gabriel, a big white angel known to be the harbinger of death and life....how very fitting as Gabriel brought new life into mine, after the loss of another.

(for those wishing to special order a cake with Pooch Pantry located on Johnson Street in downtown Santa Fe you only need to give them 24 hours notice and you have a choice of either Peanut Butter Cake or Honey Cake....they use all natural, human grade ingredients and use only natural colorings, so they are healthy for your dog! All of their cakes are made fresh, so they need 24 hours notice The cost is $15.00.)

And she's off

Last week at the Assistance Dog of the West's Santa Fe offices, I had the pleasure to meet the four women responsible for taking some of our finely trained dogs out into the "real world" as it were. One of these finely trained dogs, was Emma, my very first assistance dog--the dog who had trained me to train assistance dogs! When I entered the conference room and saw Emma with her new handler sit by her side, sitting under her table and looking adoringly up into her eyes the reality of Emma's future came into view.

I had known for months that Emma was scheduled to leave in October to head for the town known for little green men and flying saucers, Roswell New Mexico. There, Emma would be working in the court system to assist young children facing the challenges of sharing their private pain and suffering in the public arena of the court system. These children are often separated from their parents and guardians in the legal process. Special assistance dogs chosen to act as court house dogs aid these children as they proceed through this sensitive time in their life. The court house dog provides comfort at this pivotal juncture.
Emma has been selected to fill this important role. Emma will be there to reassure and empathize. To lend a paw as it were...offering her innate sweetness and empathy to children in need. Knowing her future hometown was to be Roswell, and having seen her bolt out across the country side at warp 20, I had granted Emma a new nickname, "U.F.O." ......unidentified flying object!



Over the course of the four day training period, Emma and two other dogs were given time to bond with their new handlers. The handlers attended classes and reviewed the ninety commands that their dogs had been groomed to follow during their training period. Friday morning, all dogs and handlers headed out to the DeVargas Mall for a Public Access Test, a test designed to determine the "assistance dog fluency" of the dog and handler alike. All parties passed.

Seeing Emma in the hands of her new family, evoked pride in me, while at the same time I felt an ache in my throat. I would miss my Emma! This pang of sadness was assuaged only through the knowledge that Emma was headed out into the capable hands of her handler and family of five, four of whom I had the pleasure to meet. It was clear during the four day training period that Emma was happy, relaxed and bonded with her new family. I wish her, her family, and the countless children's whose lives she will impact, the very best of luck and good wishes.

Love sometimes means, having to let go. Emma, go girl go!