Training Day 2

The day flew by.... I'm tired, but feeling a bit more confident. Chevy is responding well and my days of dog obedience training are definitely paying off. I have this high pitched voice that I use with dogs and it certainly gets Chevy's attention. Chevy responds well. We put the gentle leaders (a different training collar) on the dogs today. Chevy turned into a different dog... very obedient except when he is trying to rub it off his head. Right after I got it on he buried his head in my lap, but the results were amazing. We are meeting so many great people in our class. Such a mix of kids we have... some have autism, some have certain syndromes, Nate and another older boy has Down Syndrome. Kids are running around and playing... class goes on and the trainers don't miss a beat. It's so great to see the acceptance of all the different people in the class. I have to tell you a funny story... we were asking questions and one of the Mom's in class asked if she and her husband were going to a movie or out to dinner without the child the dog is for.. should they leave the dog with the sitter or take it with on their date... Her husband was strongly shaking his head no... I almost fell over laughing. Chevy had a little difficulty getting into the back of the car... I remembered in class to give them a little running start and up he went. He laid down next to Nate.. at one point I heard Nate laughing and Chevy had put his head in Nate's lap. Nate loved it. We had dinner, fed Chevy and now we are relaxing. Chevy is sleeping with a full belly. Going to bed earlier tonight than last night. We split into two classes tomorrow and then start tracking. It figures that Friday is supposed to drop to 50 degrees for tracking after having 79 degree temps... Oh, well, it could be snowing!!! I don't know what I would do without Nana here... She keeps Nate busy, makes great lunches and dinners... she cooked ahead of time and brought a lot of homemade food with her. It definitely makes a difference in how you feel... Ken comes on Tuesday. He flies in to Columbus Airport. I have to chuckle... I can see the tension at times when spouses are stressed out... It's a hard thing... we are so out of our element, running on lack of sleep, the kids are a little off... out of your routine and trying to get this dog to do what you want. It can be a recipe for a big ole fight... I find myself taking lots of deep breaths trying to get my anxiety level down... As I sit here and watch Chevy sleeping on the floor and the smile on Nate's face I know its all worth every bit of any stress or discomfort we might endure. The prize in the end is sooooo worth it. I wouldn't change a thing. Going to wind down... post more tomorrow.

Training Day 1

The beginning of our training class was not like the others. Karen and Jeremy had to leave to go out of town and they are also filming a documentary so they brought the dogs out quickly. It was rather chaotic, but I understand the other classes had to wait sometimes 2 hours for the dogs to come out. This was great. Nate was excited but cautious as Chevy is still very puppy and that is a turn off for Nate. He likes calm and not in your face stuff. Chevy is very much in your face. At first I was a little leery of his puppiness, but I had to remind myself that he is just that... a puppy. When we got out on the floor to train, he was right there with me. And he loves the treats I brought from The Liver Lady. We practiced, sit, Down and free. We had dinner when we got back to the hotel, swam a little, and then got ready for bed. Nate is sawing logs... the crate is put together and we are ready to sleep. I AM EXHAUSTED, overwhelmed, discombobulated, overstimulated, but really happy and excited. I don't have Autism, but I can just imagine how all of these kids feel that are in training and out of their element. I think all the kids did really well on the first day. Nate watched his Ipad and then was checking out the play area. I'll post a few pics on here... unfortunately. The internet here at the hotel is very very slow. Takes forever to upload anything. Will post again soon.

Today is the Day

Thanks to all the efforts of many people we are here... Up at 5:30 and ready to meet Chevy. I promise, as soon as I can I will post pics and let you know how it goes. I can't tell you how excited this Mom is. Nate is getting a best buddy today. That means the world to Ken and I. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

We made it!!

We arrived at our hotel around 4:30pm today. Nate did great in the car. We unloaded which took two loads and unpacked. Went to eat at Max and Irma's which is awesome because the one by our house closed. Went to Meijers, got groceries, ran into a 4 Paws dog in the store who was their with his foster. Came back to the hotel. Went swimming, ate Pumpkin ice cream and now getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is the day we get to meet Chevy and our first day at 4 Paws. I'm excited, but exhausted since I didn't sleep well last night. I can only hope Nate sleeps through the night. Our room at the Residence Inn is awesome and so was the pool. We ran into another 4 Paws family at the front desk. They have a beautiful fire pit area that I'll have to check out before it turns 40 and freezing here by the weekend. I think they are predicting snow on Halloween... I'll post more tomorrow with pictures.

We Leave Tomorrow

It almost seams surreal. Feels like I just sent that application off to 4 Paws yesterday. It's been a little over a year. I have been packing and organizing most of the day. Ran some errands too. We are super excited to meet Chevy.. I'm just wondering where I'm going to put him and Ken on the way home? Thanks for all the support. My goal is to blog here daily and post as many pics as I can.

Nate's Buddy Gillian begging for Nate's Matches.... we got them the day I posted the videos... coincidence?

How service dogs impact their owners, click on the link to see another video of Chevy

How service dogs impact their owners