Kermit bonds

Kermit is such a lovebug! He just loves everyone.....it's pretty awesome to see. He just watches everyone and you can tell he has this genuine interest in people and even dogs! Pancake at first was avoiding Kermit's attention. So I would command Kermit to leave Pancake alone. But now Pancake will initiate the play. I think she's just a little intimidated by his size and youth. She just can't keep up. They played chase and even wrestled a bit. It makes mom really nervous because she's afraid Pancake will hurt herself. But she's wise beyond her years and seems to be holding her own! Danny is warming up to Kermit. Most dogs shy away from Danny when he becomes upset, but Kermit seems to kick it in. He can't stand to see his boy upset (or anyone for that matter). Danny is really starting to warm up to Kermit. Our 1st week with Kermit at home has been both tiring and rewarding all at once. He is a blessing.

Kermit out and about

Kermit's been busy this week. When we 1st got home we tried to take it easy with him and not go too much. But after several days it was obvious he loves to be active and social. Thursday we visited Danny's school. He was wonderful! The students loved giving him treats and petting him. The teacher commented that it looked as if Kermit knew were Danny was. I showed her a bit of tracking by letting Kermit lead the way. He sniffed right to Room 19! On the way out he sniffed to the gym entrance. That's where Danny was before I arrived. Smart guy! Way to go 4 Paws, we have one heavy duty tracking machine! Friday mom, Danny, Kenny, & Kermit braved Target. It was fairly crowded and mom had a pit in her stomach. But he was good, only sniffed one person and Danny only wandered away from us once. Hoping to get tethering up and running eventually but for now we're practicing with the tethering leash that 4 Paws gave us. Works very well in stores and mall. Special thanks to Kenny for giving mom the confidence she needs to try and not give up! He's truly a believer! Kermit visited mom's work but we chose to stay outside. He was a huge hit as always! Then Sunday he went to church and bowling. He was so wonderful with the kids (and adults as well). He definitely knows when he is working. We are so proud of how well he has done this week.

Priceless!!!!!

Cost of Giant dog crate $200.00
Cost of new Kong bed for service dog $60.00
Kermit choosing kitchen rug for favorite bed....PRICELESS!!!!

Wear purple Friday, March 26th

Tomorrow is Wear Purple Day in support of Epilepsy awareness, research, and treatment. Please wear purple for Danny, Kenny, Terri, and all others affected everyday by seizure disorders.

Baby Kermit

Kermit is really fearful of the steps. I took some instructions from the trainer to get him to go down them. He would cry everytime I went down to change a load of laundry. Yesterday I decided to tackle the steps with him. I finally was able to sit and scooch down the steps with him and he went! Well, don't get excited too fast. Then he was scared to death to come back up. The trainer, Jeremy, said it's probably because they are open steps. Even Pancake would walk by the top of the steps and give him a look as if to say....."Really, Kermit, really, your're scared of a flight of steps as big as you are!" It took over 1/2 hour of him crying like a baby to coax him back up them! I don't think he'll be spending much time down there for awhile. Probably a good thing, dad is such a packrat, there's lots of stuff for a puppy to get into! Kermit was alerting a myclonic last night before Danny went to bed. He really seems to recognize the scent of a seizure which is a God send! LOL

Kermit goes to Taekwondo

This week Kermit visited Taekwondo with Kenny. This was the 1st public access trip since bringing him home. He did great! But mom keeps forgetting he does much better with visual commands in lieu of verbal. That's been hard to remember. All the kids loved him and enjoyed giving him treats. Kermit was really sucking up all the attention. We'll begin more public access this weekend. I think Kermit is starting to miss shopping!

Meeting Kermit & family

This week Kermit has been meeting some family and even Pancake! I've tried to explain to Kermit what a grandma & grandpa is but I don't think he is quite getting the concept yet. He does like when grandma comes to babysit him though! LOL Lady, grandma & grandpa's beagle, was hilarious. She kept barking at Kermit and really gave a look when grandpa starting petting Kermit. Dog's personalities are so funny!Pancake's not sure about him yet. Kermit wants to play but Pancake just doesn't play as much anymore. She's just too old anymore. While Danny was taking a bath, Pancake laid right outside the bathroom door. It was quite cute since Pancake never shows any concern over bathtime. She wanted to let Kermit know that the boys were her babies! Kermit's young and really sort of clueless compared to Pancake, the veteran of the house.

We're home!

We made it home with Kermit Saturday evening. It's a lot like bringing home a baby, without the fears of course, mainly just adjusting to a new family member who still has 'puppy' in him. We became worried for awhile because by Sunday night he would still not go in the bedrooms or bathroom. We think he doesn't like the feeling of being closed in and prefers open areas. Who does that sound like? His personality is so much like Danny's it's uncanny. Danny didn't go to school today due to the seizure he had last night in the tub. He's had quite a few in the tub lately. We think it's something to do with his body temperature changing. We're concerned that we really need to get a handle on the seizures before summer if temperature change is triggering some of these. Summers are always tough enough for Danny.

Kermit is settling in fine. Looks like it will get better with each day as we learn his habits and he learns ours. He cries when people leave. Wally keeps telling him he's too big to be a cry baby. Bonding much better with Danny today. Danny has pupperonis & Beggin Strips in his room! You can tell Kermit worries about Danny just like we do. These dogs are amazing! He hasn't met Pancake yet. We may give it a few more days but we sure miss her.

Graduation Day

Well, today was the big day. We graduated, Kermit & Danny are an official service dog team. Our final test was having 5 trainers watch us handle Kermit at the food court of the mall, as well as in the mall. We had to incorporate all of the basic commands and even take Kermit it to the children's play area and watch how we handled Kermit with children. Then there was paperwork and graduation. Danny had a pretty tough day which included 2 seizures. I think all the stress of the past 2 weeks had just finally taken it's toll on him. Kermit seems to be recognizing Danny's seizure scent so we are thrilled about that! There's a lot of work and responsibility when we get home but we know we can do it. Kermit is an awesome dog and we can't wait to share him with everyone! We can't thank everyone enough for all their help and support this past year. God has truly blessed us with Kermit, as well as all the wonderful people in our lives. We will continue to blog as we encounter new experiences with this awesome furry guy. We will also continue to work on that mobility dog for Tricia. :)

Night night Kermit

Kermit is absolutely drained. He's had a full 2 weeks and has worked like a champ. Today was bittersweet. It is hard to leave all the wonderful staff (and pups) at 4 Paws, as well as all the new families we have met. But we also miss St. Louis and are excited to begin our new journey with Kermit. We are so excited for the endless possibilities of how Kermit can and will change Danny's and our entire family's life.

Outside track

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRoU7aJ1zRw

Kermit finding Danny at the park.

Inside track

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ8B9krtrOI

Kermit did a great job tracking Danny at JCPenney.

Day 9 - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We really missed family today since grandma & grandpa typically do a get together for the special occasion. But if you can't spend St. Pat's with family, what a better place than in Ohio at 4 Paws. The weather was gorgeous. God has really blessed the March MVP's by making this class possible. We are all survivors in more ways than we know. Kermit is really starting to bond with his new family as well as all the other dogs. It is neat to watch all the families each day and how with the passing time the dogs are really settling in.

Today Danny walked a lot at the mall. Instead of being tethered he just walked with the extra leash and helped walk Kermit. He did very well. He even passed 2 soda machines, and although you could see the temptation in his eyes, he did not faulter and stayed with his Kermie. We tracked more in the store to show us how to have Kermit find Danny if we were to loose him in a store. This is really cool! The more we get out with Danny, the higher the risk he could become lost so this will sure give us added peace of mind. We've made some wonderful friends during our journey at 4 Paws. While we're all getting homesick, we'll really miss our friends too. Danny fell asleep once again within minutes after Jeremy began talking at the mall. Sorry Jeremy, guess class is boring to Dan even at the mall!

Day 9 - Jumping in cars

Kermit's gotten pretty good at jumping in dad's Suburban. He's pretty funny though. When dad backs in at the hotel it's really a breeze to jump in. But from the parking lot it's a lot higher. He thinks he should get a treat when he jumps in and it's high. Boy does he have our number! Jeremy and Jennifer (the 2 main 4 Paws trainers) worked with Kermit on jumping in Tricia's van. He was a little unsure about the lift. He seems to be getting the hang of it (with or without the treats). I keep saying that Kermit's service dog tag won't identify him as a service dog but rather should just say "Will work for food"!

Day 8 - Great weather & basketball

Today was a beautiful day so Danny played a lot of basketball. He played at both 4 Paws & back at the hotel. There's a lot of basketball buddies in the March MVP's class. Luckily Kermit doesn't mind the balls or try to pop them. Poor Bruno, another service dog in our class, is in love with any type of ball, including basketballs. Danny keeps a close eye on his new ball so....so far so good!

Day 8 - Everyone's tired

Even Kermit is feeling the strain of training. We're all having fun but at the same time everyone is exhausted. Today we tracked some more, Kermit ran mom through the thick of the woods! He sure found Danny in record time that's for sure. He definitely knows his scent! The 4Paws vet talked to us about different topics related to doggy health such as vaccines, poisenous foods and plants, teeth, eyes, etc. I took some notes but decided most of the stuff would probably be better handled by calling Dr. Kreher (or vet) LOL. We're trying to get Kermit to sleep in the crate. Last night he slept on the double bed sofa sleeper with Danny & mom! I think Kermit was the only one that got any sleep!

Day 7 - The Mall

Today we went back to the mall but this time with Danny. We met at the food court, not the best place to attempt with Danny. He was fine until he discovered the soda machine at one of the counters. He had a pretty big meltdown. But once we got him away from the food court he was cool as a cucumber. The amazing part is watching how Kermit kicked it into action when Danny became upset. Kermit layed by Danny and was resting his head across Danny's shoulder and neck as if to hug him. He gently licked his neck showing such love and concern for his boy. Even RazR, another boy, Matthew's service dog, tried to comfort Danny. The picture is priceless. He tethered to Kermit and even held his leash and helped walk him. We did 2 indoor tracks. Danny hid with Uncle Pat & Aunt Madonna inside JCPenney. Kermit found him both times within no time at all! Only problem is that when Kermit was wagging his tail after finding Danny in the baby section, his tail was taking out all the baby socks and landing them on the floor! He does have a thing for socks but that's getting a little carried away. Kermit was a hit at the mall as always. He really sucks up the attention. We have video of some of the tracks, if mom can just figure out how to upload them onto the blog. Hopefully that will be within the next day or so.

Day 7 - Seizure alert & greeting

Today we learned how the dogs should be when other people, especially children, approach them. Luckily service dogs of this type are very social animals. We can actually let people pet them, we just really have to be careful about their socialization with other dogs. Tricia practiced with Kermit by approaching Kermit and having him greet her. Pretty amazing stuff! Aunt Maggie thinks it's time Tricia get a mobility dog.

Another boy receiving a service dog in our class also has a dog, Fizz, that is trained for seizure alert. The boy has not had a big seizure in about 6 months so they have been using Danny's seizure scent to train Fizz. They used the scent of Danny's seizure he had on Saturday to work with Fizz (this gave them very fresh scent to work with). Today Fizz alerted an absence seizure in the boy! How amazing, and way to go Fizz! At least something good could come of Danny's seizure!

Day 6 - Kid in class

Tricia & Kenny are really enjoying class. Their learning so much about the dogs and love watching how smart they are. It was amazing to watch how we could put all the dogs in a down and then walk around distracting them, climbing over them, clapping, etc. and they wouldn't get up! We even walked other dogs through the maze of dogs and they still would not break their commands!

We hated to break it to Jeremy, but Danny really seems to be bored with his teaching. He falls asleep during every class! Guess Danny realizes he's a natural when it comes to dogs! LOL

Day 6 - Lots of stuff

Another busy day of training. Today we tracked again at another park. Uncle Pat & mom hid with Danny while Aunt Madonna, dad, and the trainers went with Kermit to track. None of them knew where Danny hid. Kermit did his job and sniffed out his boy! How wonderful is that. Watching a dog search is an amazing experience and makes one realize what a gift from God these dogs really are. We learned how to place the dogs under a table at a restaurant and also how to walk the dogs with a grocery cart. They all acted like pros! Another thing we learned was some behavior disruption commands. One was lap. If Danny becomes upset or has a seizure, we can command Kermit to lay down on Danny. We learned how to teach Kermit to intervene unwanted behaviors such as sucking a thumb or biting on hand. We also learned how to teach Kermit to recognize one of Danny's seizures in the event he is too far away to scent it. This way when he hears Danny seize (since his ears are much stronger than ours) he can alert us to go to Danny. After dinner dad & mom took Kermit to a store that is much like a super Walmart. Kermit is such a pro. He acts as if he's a professional shopper!

Really mom? Really?

Mom's been working with Kermit every night on commands and whatever new tasks that we learn in class. By the end of the evening Kermit is always give me a look like.....Is she really serious? When does this training stuff end? She's the hardest working dog I've ever seen. It's ironic, but you could really see how Danny's seizure really threw him off. He seemed out of sorts and a little off from the moments leading up to the seizure and after. He's learning about his boy first hand now so I guess it's really a different world for him at times.

Day 5 - Buddies & Mutt Mats

Kermit made new buddies today and spent time with old as well. Danny & Kenny's cousin Tricia, Aunt Madonna, and Uncle Pat drove all the way up to Ohio to meet and learn about Kermit. Tricia fed Kermit treats and thought it was funny that he has hair alot like hers! Mom practiced public access at the hotel pool tonight while Kenny swam. Tricia and Aunt Madonna went along, as well as Kermit's friend RazR and his family. You can tell that RazR and Kermit spent a lot of time together while training at 4 Paws. We believe tht RazR detected Danny's seizure as well. He is one amazing dog as well and is perfect for his buddy, Matthew. We learned about mutt mats today. These are mats that are used when you want the dog to stay in a certain area for a long time. It allows the dog a little more freedom than when their in a sit or down command. The rule is that the dog must keep 2 paws on the mat at all times, but they are allowed to sit, lay, etc. I can't say enough good things about 4 Paws and their ability to train such awesome animals.

Day 5 - Working so hard

Kermit worked so hard today. Thismorning we tracked in the pouring down rain. It is amazing to watch how the dogs can sniff them out. Three of the kids were hidden without the trainer today. All 3 dogs sniffed out their kids! After only 4 days they were able to know their scent and find them. How amazing! Danny had a grand mal at the training center thisafternoon. Kermit alerted dad about 10 minutes prior but we still don't recognize when he alerts. This is something we'll need to work on. But Kermit is really trying to do his job and get used to his new family.