Say hello to Shaka, the Australian Labradoodle, from San Juan Capistrano! He is returning to us for a 3-Week Public Access Board and Train Program. He is joining us to work on his skills out in public as a service dog in training and prepare for the Public Access Test. Watch him as he conquers one adventure to the next!
Pupdate 07/25/21
Shaka was excited to see me again! He spent his first day working on tuck under the table, and getting him comfortable with me holding his feet while we waited for things to cool down a bit. His first day back started at the block as a refresher. He worked on his fear of balloons and things with wheels. Although he was nervous, he stayed focused on me and took treats! He gained his confidence as the day progressed. He spent the evening working on checking in on our walk and relaxing on place while we ate dinner.
Pupdate 07/26/21
Shaka spent the day working at his first non pet friendly mall. He did really well despite being nervous. As time went on, his tail came out and relaxed as he watched the other dogs remaini calm. He worked on his heeling through crowds and around food. He spent the evening working on his paws and shoes. He also worked around power tools and the blender.
Pupdate 07/27/21
Shaka went to ikea and experienced his first public access issue today and a nasty dog trying to get at us. He stayed calm cool and collect while walking right past the dog who was a few yards away from us, near the enters! He worked on duration sit while I spoke with the employee about the ADA. He worked on heeling through the winding pathway ignoring all the furniture and live plants. He ignored people trying to get his attention and worked on increasing his handler focus with lots of check ins. He loves eating his food from the squeeze tube. He thinks he's getting all wet food. He later worked on putting on his shoes. He let's me hold his paws now and his back shoes fit. He's not a fan of the socks and the front feet we are still working on. He is still working on pawing at the tin, at the moment he only wants to lick or touch it with his nose out in public, at home he will paw and look for scent that's visible.
Pupdate 07/28/21
Shaka had his first long day. We worked on his shoes, and gear. He let me put everything on really easy, except his socks. He worked along other dogs and other service dogs. He got to work through nasty dogs, he did great. This was his longest walking day but he kept up with the rest of them. He practiced working on settle around other service dogs while we ate. He worked on heeling with other dogs. He stayed in a settle while we ate dinner with other dogs, helping him with the rest.
Pupdate 07/29/21
Shaka went to the park to see farm animals. He met horses, peacocks and goats. We worked on putting on his socks and watching the little train go by. He also worked on not being scared of horses. We will need to keep working on that. He worked on scent discrimination and settle.
Pupdate 07/31/21
Shaka went to an outdoor mall today to take his cgca test! He worked on tucking under seats and walking through crowds. He saw some koi fish in a pond and was a little apprehensive but eventually lost interest and was able to walk past them. Worked on duration sit and walking through doorways. He is getting better with letting me put on his shoes but he seems to not like when other dogs walk by his crate. To beat the heat he walked on the treadmill, during the day, he started off slow and was interested all on his own.
Pupdate 07/31/21
Today we took a little break and worked on alerting and running errands. We worked on being around different power tools and working on desensitizing to ear muffs. He even was able to work on a moving place objects. It moved and was unbalance and we worked on him getting used to ear muffs and his socks.
Pupdate 08/01/21
Shaka spent the day at the zoo. He worked around a wheelchair and saw lots of real animals as well as mechanical ones. He learned to heel in tight crowds. We also worked on his tuck while we rested. He worked on his stand in the restrooms and while ordering snacks. This was his first day wearing his socks! He also worked a new style of vest with a tummy cooler. He worked in desensitizing him to ear muffs and different style of vests. He did a lot of walking today and we will be continuing to build his stamina for a full day of walking.
Pupdate 08/02/21
Shaka went on some adventures today. He rode his first bus with his friend Remy. He did excellent! He wasn't scared of the noise or the crazy motion he tucked under the seat and stayed their the whole ride. We took two busses and did some walking in between bus stops. He finally went potty while we were out! Now it's time to put it on command! After our bus ride he went with Stitch for a walk to the pool where he worked on settle and watching Stitch practice his tasks with out distracting him. He didn't care about the pool or me splashing and swimming. He finished off the night working on desensitizing to fire works!
Pupdate 08/03/21
Shaka had a busy day building his stamina! Started the day off working on some scent discrimination with an empty tin, a tin with regular glucose levels, and the tin with the low level. He's getting better at only responding to the low level rather than both saliva samples. He then went with me to run errands with his new friend Oso. Worked on some firework desensitization and wearing ear muffs. Then we ended the night with a movie. The jungle cruise! He barked 1 time during a jump scare but then he settled with the rest of the dogs and didn't eat any dropped popcorn!
Pupdate 08/04/21
Shaka spent the day working at home alerting while the tube was less visible. Later we went to the mall to run some errands and he got to tag along. He worked on people with shopping carts and settling while we ate dinner. He seemed more interested in the birds than the food.
Pupdate 08/05/21
Shaka spent the day running errands with me. We went to some not pet friendly places to try to find things to work on. At one store we discovered he is not a fan of metal carts coming up behind us. We worked on his Pivot while walking, ignoring groceries, and new strangers objects He also needs to work more at night with distractions. But he did really well with the large vacuums! He is still working on going potty on command. He holds it until he gets home and goes. We are working on building his stamina so he can walk longer and go potty while we are out longer.
Pupdate 08/06/21
Shaka had a big day with lots of prep! He went on the train for the first time and rocked it! He worked on food refusal while we waited for the return train. He also worked on ignoring solicitation from others who tried to pet or talk to him. He is getting better with his Pivot and settle but he is now working on different types of people. He was frightened by couple carrying their belongings in a laundry cart. He also work on not carrying about small/ medium fire works and prepping to wear ear muffs for the plane!
Pupdate 08/07/21
Shaka spent the day working with other dogs and trying to work on going potty on command. He did have an accident at an outdoor mall but luckily it was pet friendly. He worked on standing in the public restrooms and alerting at home. He worked on heeling with another dog past the wheeled objects that previously scared him. He did great with the balloons and little cars with lights. He even did great working at night. He worked on a standing tuck at the registers and food refusal. He spent the evening preparing for the chaos of Disneyland. He worked on his ear muff desensitization and listening to fireworks. We also took him to see a very loud action packed movie where he did not bark at all during any of the jump scares. He settled under our feet next to Stitch the entire movie even when Stitch had to get up and work!
The temperature was 82°
Pupdate 08/08/21
Shaka spent today at Disneyland! He worked on duration stand, food refusal, heeling through crowds, unsolicited petting, trying to go potty on command. Still holding it and only going at my house. But he had no accidents after spending the whole day walking. He did amazing around most of the wheeled objects even some new ones he hasn't discovered yet! He ignored the other teams we walked past or went to the potty spot at the same time. He got to practice going through security and dropping the leash while I get checked then he could walk through afterwards. The security knew what they were doing and asked us all the right questions. We even got to watch them escort a pet dog out. His first ride ever was the little mermaid ride! He was very interested in all the animatronics. He didn't get scared of the noise or flashing lights or even then moving parts. He also rode the Pirates of the Caribbean where there were two drops. The first one, he had no idea. The second time he braced himself, and the third he knew what to expect and was nervous but he stayed sitting. He used all those new opportunities to eat his food! We stayed till closing but the fireworks have not been reactivated. But he still got to see them turn on the tree lights and characters dancing.
Pupdate 08/09/21
Shaka spent the day a home getting some much needed rest after yesterday. He got to relax and let loose for a bit, play with his friends and run around. He worked on some little things like stand, Pivot, and alerting with his paw. He also worked on going potty at new places. He is definitely not a fan yet and still tries to hold it in as long as possible, but with time he will get it. In the evening he worked on settling while we watched TV and the other dogs were out.
Pupdate 08/10/21
Shaka spent the day working on potty training and preparing for the airplane ride. We worked on forced tucks, where I physically maneuver him in a tuck to fit into a small area. We worked on "door manners" for security. He worked on Pivoting and heeling next to luggage. He was not a fan so we will be working on that. We worked on his stand and adding duration. He still gets confused and wants to sit when I get too far away but it's mostly for restrooms and dirty floors. We worked on his desensitizing to ear muffs. We finished the day with an evening trip to the grocery store. He barked at a homeless man, but I wasn't sure if it was at the man or his cart of items. We worked around food raw and packaged. He was tempted by the meats but did excellent checking in and staying focused on me.
Pupdatep9/11/22
Shaka had an important day today! He went on an airplane. He worked on settle and going to sleep when told. He worked on food refusal and walking past dogs that were trying to charge us. We dealt with access issues and the busy halls of the airport. He did great around the other luggage moving and take off. He just refused to go potty on command.
Pupdate 08/12/21
Shaka had the day of after a hectic day yesterday. He and Stitch's only plans were to nap and play. We worked on some basic obedience while they ran around. I worked in the yard once it started cooling down and he joined me for some counter conditioning. I decided to work him around power tools and my pond tools while I cleaned. He was nervous at first, he kept trying to go back inside until he learned nothing was going to happen to him and he got to eat his chews in the shade. After that he just watched from afar, he was not a fan when Stitch tried to get him wet. He spent the evening relaxing on place while we ate dinner and worked on his settle.
Pupdate 08/13/21
Shaka had a full day today running errands and working! Started off by going to a car dealership and tucking under the tiny benches, he's not a fan of getting small when he wants to stretch out. So we worked on that until we decided to eat at a nice restaurant with indoor seating. The waiter asked all the right questions and no one was the wiser when we finished eating and they told us they forgot we had dogs! He went under and settled next to Stitch beautifully! Ignoring all the food! He worked on scent discrimination, working with plain cotton rolls, Nirmal glucose reading saliva samples and empty tins to begin generalizing the scent. He went with me to my doctor appointment, where he learned about strange hospital smells and different types of people, we will need to work more on that as he was startled by certain people that we walked by. At the office he settled and wasn't startled by the their push cart which was great because it had giant wheels and lots of metal! He spent the afternoon on place by the pool.
Pupdate 08/14/21
Shaka spent the day at the park and going out into town. We worked on street manners and door manners. He practiced his tuck at the restaurant we went to and settle at the movies. We worked him through crowds and around food. He's all packed and ready to go home! We said our goodbyes and had our final hugs.