The Mock Evaluation - not our finest hour

Greetings everyone,

Last Saturday Mom and I had a mock evaluation. It was basically a simulation of the real evaluation that comes on September 23rd.

I wish I could say that we aced it and will have no problem with the eval on the 23rd, but being that I am an honest dog, I cannot. Big heavy Sammy sigh.

First off, it was raining. I DON'T like rain. I REALLY don't like rain. Thank goodness it wasn't storming or we would have been sunk! So I was not in my normal "let's do this" frame of mind. I was more in a "let's go home and hide in the bathroom" state. Mom did her best to reassure me and calm me down, but I was still a bit frazzled when we began the testing.

The first part of evaluation was to have me walk with Mom at a heel, I did not want to do so. There were so many interesting smells on the floor and there were these new orange things on the floor, cones I think they're called, so of course I had to check those out. The evaluators gave Mom some tips on how to get me to focus some more, and that did help a little.

There were other obedience tests and we did fine on those. And we did really good with parts of the aptitude test. I love to be petted so the being petted by the crowd, being bumped from behind and being clumsily petted were a piece of cake! The restraining hug, however, was not. Now I'm used to Mom doing this to me, clapping and squealing and then coming over top of me to give me a big, tight hug. But I didn't know this lady and that made me want to get away from her. 

Since the evaluation got off to a rocky start, it made Mom nervous. Well, actually more nervous than she already was. And that nervousness traveled right down the leash and into me. By the time we got to the "meeting a neutral dog" exercise I was anything but. And then Mom asked me if I was ready - bad choice of words on her part. See, asking me if I'm ready translates into my dog brain as "ready to go for a walk? ready to go chase a ball? ready to go chew on Sophie?" Needless to say, excitement + nervousness = one revved up Sammy. It was not pretty. However, we did recover well after the first miserable attempt at the exercise and did better the next two times.

When we left, Mom was dejected. She felt like she had let me down. She praised me and told me what a great job I did and I appreciated that.

However, I must say that while the evaluation didn't go exactly as we had hoped, we are not discouraged. We will go forward with the evaluation on the 23rd of September. We probably won't pass, but it will be a great way to judge our progress.

So please, keep your paws crossed for us. And if you'd like to help Mom with my training - give her a yelp! Any helping paws, or hands, are greatly appreciated!

More later home dawgs - sniff ya later!

Paws out!

Sammy

It's not easy being this handsome . . .Or putting your best paw forward

Greetings everyone!

Mom and I attended our first therapy team workshop together and we crushed it! Thank goodness Mom and I didn't get nervous, or we'd have been in a fur flying mess!

Part of what we are evaluated on is how we look, so there's a whole lot of grooming that I have to endure, I mean, participate in. And it makes sense when you think about it: Would you want to pet a dirty dog? Or be greeted by the pet's human partner if he or she didn't look presentable?

Humans have such a funny thing about smell - for some reason to be covered in the scent of a dead squirrel or horse manure or skunk is a BAD thing. Well whatever, I will have to comply with what humans deem as smelling good.

So I have to be clean, my nails trimmed short and rounded, my ears cleaned, my teeth clean, my breath non-stinky, and the fur that grows between the pads of my paws trimmed even with my pads. At least I didn't have to be waxed or my fur dyed - can you imagine? I shudder to think!

The grooming begins . . .

Like, wow, dude! 

The day before my first work shop I had my teeth cleaned. Mom took me to my favorite vet and they took wonderful care of me. The anesthesia rocks!!!! 

I was feeling pretty hip and groovy and my mouth felt kinda funny. I got home, climbed on my bed and took a good long snooze. I woke up a few hours later with the munchies! Well I couldn't eat the morning I had my dental, so I was hungry! And thirsty too. A big bowl of water and a bowl of food later and I was as right as a Border Collie herding sheep!


The grooming continues . . . 

Get ready for the shake!!!

Mom dons her scrubs and the process starts with what else, (sigh), a bath. Or in my case, a shower. Mom got the shampoo recommended by many of the therapy teams. I guess it smells good to humans, so I allowed her to use it.

After that came a good, brisk toweling off, a quick brushing and then she whipped out the hair dryer.

I was not particularly thrilled about the hair dryer, but I do have fairly thick fur, so it's a necessary evil. And Mom kept telling me what a good boy I am and gave me kisses, so I decided to "pit bull up" as Chunk, our next door dog neighbor would bark, and get through it.


Once I was mostly dry, it was time to trim the fur that grows between the pads of my feet. Now I'm not one to have my feet messed with(truth be told it tickles!), but Mom explained that trimming back the fur on my feet will help protect the people I visit by not dragging in mud or disease from the outside. And it will help protect me by not having any bad stuff come with me when I leave wherever I'm visiting. So with a heavy sign and an eye roll I acquiesced.

All neat and clean!

Next came cleaning my ears. This wasn't bad at all really. Just some cleaning solution on a cotton pad and then she rubbed that in my ears. It kind of felt good in an itchy sort of way, if that makes sense. I felt the need to scratch or rub my head against the bathroom rug.

After that it was nail trimming time. Mom has basically what is the dog grooming equivalent of a Dremmel and she set to work filing down my nails. Again, it wasn't pleasant, but I thought of my G'daddy and MeeMother and how delicate their skin is, so I can see how sharp or jagged nails could easily cause bleeding or rip out an IV. It's not unlike when Sophie bites me on the ear. Or the tail. Or the leg. Or the lip. You get the idea. But the pictures, and the wear on the sandpaper, speak for themselves.

It's not easy being me!

So, with everything as cleaned and polished and scrubbed as it can be, it was time for a final brush out and a well deserved break!

I sprawled out on the floor and had a bit of a snooze until it was time to head to the workshop. Normally the grooming wouldn't take place the day of the workshop (or visit), but I was so groggy from the dental on Friday night that Mom thought it best to wait until that morning to finish the grooming.

The workshop was great! We (well Mom actually, I was pretty much flawless) only made a few mistakes, but for the most part we did good. I was calm, Mom was calm, and we had a lot to absorb in a short amount of time. 


The long and short of it is this: I need to be sociable and agreeable, ready to meet new people and help those in need. And Mom needs to take care of me so I can do my job. She needs to pay attention to me and the situation to ensure that I don't get overly stressed. She has to protect me and work with me so I can visit with people who need me. I have a wonderful dog and human family and friends because someone took the time to notice me and to care. The same goes for Callie and for Sophie. 

Our G'daddy is alive because someone had the compassion to see beyond her own pain and realize that her death would not be in vein if she could give life to others. And she gave G'daddy the heart that beats inside him today.

So call us melodramatic, but this works means a lot to her and to me. We want to give back; it's our small way to say "thank you" to those that given so much to us. Life is precious; joy is precious. And like some diseases, happiness is also contagious. And I intend to spread it, one tail wag, one soulful look, one lean, one hug, at a time. It's the least I can do.

So wish us luck!

Sniff ya later, home dawgs, paws out!

Sammy

Update on our therapy team journey . . .we're gonna need a longer leash

Greetings all!

Well it's been a few weeks since I've posted, so I fired up the ol' "bark to text" app so I can fill you in on how Mom and I are doing with our quest to be a therapy team.

Mom and I have now realized that there is a lot, and I mean, a lot to do to get ready to pass the evaluation at the end of September.

Our obedience work has to be just about flawless and I have to be able, with Mom's help, handle a wide range of situations. Not just new sniffs, but new people, new sights, new sounds and even some new commands.

Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks had a dog that was stubborn as hell. I'm up to learning new tricks and commands. And I understand why. Mom needs to be able to know that if she asks me or tells me do to something, that I will do it, no questions asked and no surprises.

Some of the training though seems awfully bizarre to me. I mean, who in their right mind tosses a tennis ball in front of a border collie mix and then WON'T let him go get it or play with it? It's hard, but it makes Mom happy and I get a jackpot of treats when I don't go after it. So I suppress my flyball instincts and sit by Mom's side until she tells me I can go get the ball.

And then she and Grandaddy have been working with me to help me not be afraid of plastics bags, especially when one is snapped open. Sophie and Callie have told me how odd we look - Grandaddy standing behind me, snapping a garbage bag behind me while Mom gives me treats. They laugh at me, but I'm the one getting treats so who's the dumb dog now???


That's not all - there's grooming too! I have to be bathed, brushed, nails trimmed, ears cleaned, teeth cleaned and the fur that grows between the pads of my paws has to be trimmed as well. It's exhausting! But I do look pretty spiffy once I'm done, so I guess it's worth it.

I can't wait to pass all my tests, get our credentials and start visiting!

We have another workshop on Saturday, so I'll post more after that.

Keep your paws crossed for me! Oh, and Mom too!

Sniff ya later - paws out!

Sammy