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Making a difference



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 11th 08, 10:21 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
diddy[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,108
Default Making a difference

Today Tuck had back to back shows in a preschool/early Childhood setting.
Stress here is on working on intervention with children with real
problems. Many of the children are normal. Many are not.

Tuck was at this same school on Monday with 2 different groups of kids.

We explained his role in his children reading to dogs program, and Tuck did
his tricks. Well, he was supposed to.

The first five tricks, he showed how committed he could be to "SIT". In
spite of any temptation and order from me to do something else, He devotely
showed his committment to "SIT"

How embarrasing!

Apparently this was not going to be his day.

So I know what was motivating to him, and we fast forwarded his scheduled
program directly to the scent work. Tuck recovered from there, and
completed successfully , the rest of the programs.


I had arrived early, and got to watch some therapy with some of the
children. Walking ladders, balance boards, ball balancing, teeter boards,
all things I had done with Tuck as early as a few weeks old. I enjoyed
watching the therapy.

Tuck will be 3 this month. All of these kids were older than my dog.
We played basketball, and one of the kids beat Tuck. One of the kids held
Tuck's flash cards [10 of them] and showed them to him in random order. My
assistant couldn't read, but Tuck could, and performed the commands on the
cards as he read them. I was behind a barrier to prove Tuck was actually
reading the cards and not taking queues from me.

The kids couldn't read, so I suppose this wasn't impressive to them. But
the teachers were blown away and i got mobbed by teachers when the show was
over. They had to get a hold of those flash cards and seeing was believing.
(I did not do the flash cards in Monday's show, because I knew it was above
these kids age levels. But i scratched another trick that I did monday that
Tuck had difficulty with.)

So I learned about therapy, and in exchange, the teachers were exposed to
animal therapy with dogs as teaching motivation and learning.

They saw how the kids responded positively to the dog, and having access to
him as a reward for their efforts.

They wanted Tuck to come work in THEIR classrooms.

Well, Tuck is NOT Magic Rubberman, where he can stretch himself everywhere
he's needed.

Tuck did not need to be perfect (as demonstrated by his rocky start)

A dog does not need to learn to read, or even do all the fancy tricks that
Tuck does in order to get a positive response.

All a dog really needs to be is mentally stable and well mannered. And have
an owner committed and believing in dog therapy with a little time.


There is a need for more therapy dogs in education. Tuck can't do it all,
and he's overwhelmed in demand.

I'm not writing about this to brag on Tuck, but instead to inspire, and
make this sound like the fun it really is. Therapy work is really
rewarding. Tuck majorly screwed up the first 5-6 exercises of his program.
(This is a major disaster!) And they STILL loved him. The fact is, he
didn't have to do anything at all to be appreciated. And the value in
education has no measure.

There are a lot of wonderful dogs out there. Great with kids and well
mannered. I do hope you find some time and share your dog in therapy.
  #2  
Old December 12th 08, 03:39 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Paul E. Schoen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,654
Default Making a difference


"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..

There are a lot of wonderful dogs out there. Great with kids and well
mannered. I do hope you find some time and share your dog in therapy.


Even me and Muttley? He seems to be OK with kids, but he's not really well
trained enough to do tricks, and I really don't have the training skills
and personality to do that. I thought about taking him on a visit to the
Perry Point VA Hospital, where I sometimes go with a small group to play
guitar and sing for some of the patients in their nursing facility (and
once in their psych ward). I can't do the visit I had scheduled for this
weekend because of my back problems, but maybe we can go on an alternate
date next January. Does the dog need to be certified? Muttley did OK at the
Riderwood community, but he was just outside, and only met a few people
before you had some time with us.

Paul and Muttley


  #3  
Old December 12th 08, 07:10 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Phyrie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 427
Default Making a difference


"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..
Today Tuck had back to back shows in a preschool/early Childhood setting.
Stress here is on working on intervention with children with real
problems. Many of the children are normal. Many are not.

Tuck was at this same school on Monday with 2 different groups of kids.

We explained his role in his children reading to dogs program, and Tuck
did
his tricks. Well, he was supposed to.

The first five tricks, he showed how committed he could be to "SIT". In
spite of any temptation and order from me to do something else, He
devotely
showed his committment to "SIT"

How embarrasing!

Apparently this was not going to be his day.

So I know what was motivating to him, and we fast forwarded his scheduled
program directly to the scent work. Tuck recovered from there, and
completed successfully , the rest of the programs.


I had arrived early, and got to watch some therapy with some of the
children. Walking ladders, balance boards, ball balancing, teeter boards,
all things I had done with Tuck as early as a few weeks old. I enjoyed
watching the therapy.

Tuck will be 3 this month. All of these kids were older than my dog.
We played basketball, and one of the kids beat Tuck. One of the kids held
Tuck's flash cards [10 of them] and showed them to him in random order.
My
assistant couldn't read, but Tuck could, and performed the commands on
the
cards as he read them. I was behind a barrier to prove Tuck was actually
reading the cards and not taking queues from me.

The kids couldn't read, so I suppose this wasn't impressive to them. But
the teachers were blown away and i got mobbed by teachers when the show
was
over. They had to get a hold of those flash cards and seeing was
believing.
(I did not do the flash cards in Monday's show, because I knew it was
above
these kids age levels. But i scratched another trick that I did monday
that
Tuck had difficulty with.)

So I learned about therapy, and in exchange, the teachers were exposed to
animal therapy with dogs as teaching motivation and learning.

They saw how the kids responded positively to the dog, and having access
to
him as a reward for their efforts.

They wanted Tuck to come work in THEIR classrooms.

Well, Tuck is NOT Magic Rubberman, where he can stretch himself everywhere
he's needed.

Tuck did not need to be perfect (as demonstrated by his rocky start)

A dog does not need to learn to read, or even do all the fancy tricks that
Tuck does in order to get a positive response.

All a dog really needs to be is mentally stable and well mannered. And
have
an owner committed and believing in dog therapy with a little time.


There is a need for more therapy dogs in education. Tuck can't do it all,
and he's overwhelmed in demand.

I'm not writing about this to brag on Tuck, but instead to inspire, and
make this sound like the fun it really is. Therapy work is really
rewarding. Tuck majorly screwed up the first 5-6 exercises of his
program.
(This is a major disaster!) And they STILL loved him. The fact is, he
didn't have to do anything at all to be appreciated. And the value in
education has no measure.

There are a lot of wonderful dogs out there. Great with kids and well
mannered. I do hope you find some time and share your dog in therapy.


What a wonderful story, diddy. I feel guilty looking at my "mostly" polite,
friendly, clever, more-than-willing-to-learn-if I just got my **** together,
dog. Kiba is a perfect size for hospital visits, I think. You have
inspired me to work harder with him.

Well done, Tuck and diddy!
--
Phyrie
Kiba the Cav's Pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phyrie/...758930/detail/


  #4  
Old December 12th 08, 01:09 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
diddy[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,108
Default Making a difference

"Paul E. Schoen" spoke these words of wisdom in
:


"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..

There are a lot of wonderful dogs out there. Great with kids and well
mannered. I do hope you find some time and share your dog in therapy.


Even me and Muttley? He seems to be OK with kids, but he's not really
well trained enough to do tricks, and I really don't have the training
skills and personality to do that. I thought about taking him on a visit
to the Perry Point VA Hospital, where I sometimes go with a small group
to play guitar and sing for some of the patients in their nursing
facility (and once in their psych ward). I can't do the visit I had
scheduled for this weekend because of my back problems, but maybe we can
go on an alternate date next January. Does the dog need to be certified?
Muttley did OK at the Riderwood community, but he was just outside, and
only met a few people before you had some time with us.

Paul and Muttley




The dog needs to be certified. This means it has been evaluated by a
trained evaluator. You need to fill out a questionaire before
certification verifying that the dog has never bitten anyone, nor is dog
aggressive.

Then the dog is run through some tests to see if the dog is well mannered,
and tolerates some medical equipment, other dogs, strange people, and
maintains a stay at a distance off leash


A dog does NOT need to do any tricks in order to be a therapy dog. Tuck
does, and we employ them as added incentive, but it's not necessary at all.
  #5  
Old December 12th 08, 01:42 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Janet Boss
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,368
Default Making a difference

In article , diddy none
wrote:

You need to fill out a questionaire before
certification verifying that the dog has never bitten anyone, nor is dog
aggressive.


OOPS!

Then the dog is run through some tests to see if the dog is well mannered,
and tolerates some medical equipment, other dogs, strange people, and
maintains a stay at a distance off leash.


OOPS again!

Seriously though, you're right Diddy. I need to get Rudy doing therapy
work. He's a natural. He adores everyone and vice versa. He makes
everyone feel like they're the most important person in the world. In
other words, he's SUCH a Golden Retriever!

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
  #6  
Old December 13th 08, 01:12 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Paul E. Schoen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,654
Default Making a difference


"Janet Boss" wrote in message
...
In article , diddy none
wrote:

You need to fill out a questionaire before
certification verifying that the dog has never bitten anyone, nor is dog
aggressive.


OOPS!


Dog aggression only in your class. And yes he bit one person under extreme
circumstances. But there is nothing in the requirements I found (see below)
asking about that.


Then the dog is run through some tests to see if the dog is well
mannered,
and tolerates some medical equipment, other dogs, strange people, and
maintains a stay at a distance off leash.


OOPS again!


He was doing pretty well with his sit-stay-come. He has been exposed to
wheel chairs, walkers, other dogs, strange people, etc.

Here are more details of therapy dog certification testing:

http://www.tdi-dog.org/requirements.html
http://www.tdi-dog.org/tditesting.html

And Diddy would especially like this:

http://www.tdi-dog.org/childrenreadingtodogs.htm

Paul and Muttley


  #7  
Old December 13th 08, 02:45 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Spot[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 233
Default Making a difference

Diddy,

Is right to be a therapy dog they have to go through all kinds of stuff and
be certified.

Some homes will just let you visit, it depends on the nursing home. I know
the place that my sister works at lets quite a few of the familys bring in
pets to see the residents who live there. Of course the dogs have to behave
and be leashed at all times. I know she's said to me about taking Lady in I
just haven't gotten around to it. She loves older people and anywhere I
take her she seems to gravitate toward them. I've had quite a few tell me
about dogs they've had in the past and they love petting her and giving her
hugs.

Celeste

--
Save 25% or more on your eBay® auctions
Snipe eBay Auctions with Bidnip
http://www.bidnip.com/a.php?id=39019

"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..
"Paul E. Schoen" spoke these words of wisdom in
:


"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..

There are a lot of wonderful dogs out there. Great with kids and well
mannered. I do hope you find some time and share your dog in therapy.


Even me and Muttley? He seems to be OK with kids, but he's not really
well trained enough to do tricks, and I really don't have the training
skills and personality to do that. I thought about taking him on a visit
to the Perry Point VA Hospital, where I sometimes go with a small group
to play guitar and sing for some of the patients in their nursing
facility (and once in their psych ward). I can't do the visit I had
scheduled for this weekend because of my back problems, but maybe we can
go on an alternate date next January. Does the dog need to be certified?
Muttley did OK at the Riderwood community, but he was just outside, and
only met a few people before you had some time with us.

Paul and Muttley




The dog needs to be certified. This means it has been evaluated by a
trained evaluator. You need to fill out a questionaire before
certification verifying that the dog has never bitten anyone, nor is dog
aggressive.

Then the dog is run through some tests to see if the dog is well
mannered,
and tolerates some medical equipment, other dogs, strange people, and
maintains a stay at a distance off leash


A dog does NOT need to do any tricks in order to be a therapy dog. Tuck
does, and we employ them as added incentive, but it's not necessary at
all.



  #8  
Old December 13th 08, 06:59 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
diddy[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,108
Default Making a difference

"Spot" spoke these words of wisdom in
:

Diddy,

Is right to be a therapy dog they have to go through all kinds of stuff
and be certified.


Yes
Some homes will just let you visit, it depends on the nursing home.


YES, And if a dog bite happens, you have no insurance or therapy
certification to back you

I
know the place that my sister works at lets quite a few of the familys
bring in pets to see the residents who live there. Of course the dogs
have to behave and be leashed at all times. I know she's said to me
about taking Lady in I just haven't gotten around to it. She loves
older people and anywhere I take her she seems to gravitate toward them.
I've had quite a few tell me about dogs they've had in the past and
they love petting her and giving her hugs.

Celeste


I've taken dogs in before that were not certified at the time. Some places
require it. Some are just very happy to see friendly dogs with owners who
give their time


 




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