"Photoshoot" with Kai's Favorite Object

Because the weather is finally nice enough to go outside, Kailaq and I decided to play fetch with his favorite toy, the tennis ball! Below are some of the cute pictures that resulted from his play time!

Kailaq's Test

Today is the day that Kailaq is being tested for his Pet Partners registration for therapy work. The test lasted roughly half an hour. Kai was super excited to meet new people and be loved on. He was overall performing as usual, besides the fact that he was way more excited than usual. He passed the test in the end! Now it is time to send in the registration packet and get ID badges so that we can begin visitation. Meanwhile, I will hopefully be going on some "job shadows" with an experienced animal therapy team.

Kailaq's Training Update

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday Kailaq and I went back to PetSmart to train for the Pet Partners Skills and Aptitude test. The hardest part was getting Kailaq to ignore his biggest weakness. . . tennis balls. Kailaq absolutely loves to play fetch, and if any tennis ball is laying on the ground he immediately picks it up. Part of the test is to have Kailaq walk past a toy on the ground. Kailaq was quite distracted, but after a few runs Kailaq was able to walk past the tennis ball with some minor distraction.

We also practiced crowding Kailaq and petting him. Kailaq sat for a while and then eventually laid down for belly scratches. Needless to say, I am not worried about this part of the test.

After this exercise, we had Kailaq be placed in an environment of angry yelling (acting of course!) Kailaq was more confused than scared or nervous. When there are loud noises however, Kailaq does show signs of fear. I will have to work with him on that.

We also got the experience of Kailaq interacting with a little boy who wanted to pet him. Kailaq was much bigger than he was, but he remained seated the whole time! Yay!!!

In the end, Kailaq overall is pretty prepared for the test with the exception of the tennis balls!!!

Kai's Vet Check Up

Kailaq recently had to go to a vet appointment in order to be an eligible Pet Therapy animal. He was at the vet office for a little over an hour while the vet ran a number of tests on him.

 Kailaq had to meet the following criteria in order to be certified according to Pet Partners:

• Current on all vaccinations
• Free of all parasites
• Does not eat raw protein diet/treats
• No signs of infectious disease
• Must be tempermentally able to participate in the Pet Partners program
• Any conditions must be under control using a prescribed medication
• If there is any disabilities, the animal can still participate with accommodations. 

After all was tested, Kailaq passed the vet exam! Yay! Now Kailaq and I have to continue training in order to pass the Pet Partners skill and  aptitude test.

Handler Course Update!!!

Hi Everyone!

On the fifth of February I took and passed my Handler Exam! After taking PLENTY of notes through out the entire course and reviewing a little, I felt I was ready to take the test. I had to answer twenty questions of which I answered 85% correctly. The minimum to pass is an 80%. Next step is to fill out the registration packet and to get Kailaq tested by the vet for health reasons. After everything checks out, Kailaq and I can begin to practice for the Skills and Aptitude test as the final step!

Handler Course

Over Thanksgiving, I started on my Handler Course. This course (required by Pet Partners) consists of 9 units, ranging from the history of Pet Partners to the visitation procedure. At the end of every unit, there is a knowledge check (3 multiple choice questions.) Once all nine sections of the unit are complete, you are eligible to take the Handler assessment. After passing the course, the next step is to get evaluated to become a therapy animal team!

Another Class and Some Fun

Currently, I am getting ready to complete the handler certification. This can be completed one of two ways: in person or online. Because the nearest place for an in-person workshop is about 3 hours away, it is more convinient for me to take the online course. Hopefully, I will have this training completed by the end of Thanksgiving Break.

In other news, Kai and I have found an even more challenging place to practice: Petco. For some reason, I have found Petco has more people with animals walking around. Kailaq did alright, but definitely needed some reminders. We also had a little fun while we were there!

Education after Graduation

Its been a week since graduation. School has been crazy busy so Kai and I have not had much practice time compared to before. Over the weekend we made a visit to Home Depot and spent a while there. There were two kids who asked if they could pet Kai. Kai did exactly as he was taught and didn’t mind all the attention. 

The good thing about Home Depot is there are a lot of very strange noises (saws, hammers, noisy broken carts, wood being dropped, the occasional dog and not to mention people or kids.) I have found that this is a great place to desensitize noises and improve socialization skills during my free time.  

Graduation!!!

It's GRADUATION DAY! We practiced the test again during our last class. Kai was being very temperamental towards other dogs for the majority of the lesson. At the very end, we discussed the upkeep of skills, and ways to improve behavior after the class. For the finale, Kai got to wear a graduation cap, and get his very own diploma!!!

Kai the Overachiever!

In class, we ran through the CGC test in its entirety just to see how close Kai is to meeting test standards. In the end, Kai had passed each and every standard! By the end of the class, Kai and I were signing paperwork for the CGC certification! Two weeks ahead of schedule! Next class will be graduation!

Saying Hello is Hard

In this class, we worked on greeting a stranger with a dog as well as the appearance and grooming assessment. Kai struggled a little at first with the presence of another dog. He growled a little. The exercise is to approach the other person, and have the dogs sit while shaking hands. Kai would not make any advances to the dog (he stayed seated the whole time), though he did growl, which is not allowed on the CGC test.

The appearance and grooming assessment went much easier. Kai is learning how to stand without moving forward. All the practice outside of the classroom is definitely helping with this

skill. We only have a few more classes to practice before the CGC test. 

Behind the Scenes

Kai and I have made trips to a variety of places for some practice in the real world. We have come across many people (adults, children, and everyone in between) who have wanted to meet Kai. Of course I made Kai sit down beforehand, just to get into the habit and to evaluate how well he behaves outside of the classroom. He was on his best behavior and not once did he break from his training! Needless to say, this is a cause for celebration.

I have also trained Kai on a new command "Stop" (though it is not required for the CGC test.) He caught on after only a few times of me repeating it. By saying "stop" and immediately saying "sit," he began to associate "stop" to mean stop moving and sit down until said otherwise. This goes to show just how powerful verbal cues really are when training.

Click your Heels Three Times

This sunday we learned of another standard to pass the CGC test. In class we were working on the standing skill (both from sitting and the down position) as well as the vet examination process (lifting paws, tail, looking in ears and mouth.) 
Both of these skills are under criteria three.

Kai did very well overall, even though he was very distracted with the clicker the dog trainer was using. Apparently, the clicker makes a very fun sound according to Kai because I could not get his attention back. Thankfully, the clicker sound only occurred at the very end of the class, so we got some very good practice in.

Sit, Stand, Down, Stand

The second class went very well. Kai and I were the only ones out of our class to show up, so we got individual attention. We spent the beginning of the class class working on “sit and stay while being petted skill” (which was tremendously improved) and the “walking skill” (the second criteria.) We need to work on turning left and right as well as the stops in the middle and in the end.

 I will also need to work on training him to stand  on command from both a seated and a down position (the first part of criteria three.) The combination we need to practice is: sit, stand, down, stand. Taking Kai out in public to practice these skills will definitely give us a real life experience and a good foundation to help people in healthcare facilities. 

1st Class!

Kailaq (K-eye-lack) a.k.a. Kai for short, went to his first class Sunday! The class we are taking is a preparatory class for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. This is a prerequisite for the training necessary to become a certified Therapy Dog. Kai lost focus about half way through the class, and decided to ignore most of my commands (unless I had a treat of course.)

Meet Kai!

Kailaq (K-eye-lack) or Kai for short, is a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd  mix. He is about 7 years old with a “go with the flow” personality. The best things in the world for Kai are belly rubs and playing fetch with his tennis ball. With his lovable personality and relaxed demeanor, he has the makings for an excellent therapy dog. Therefore, I have decided to create the “Sit, Stay, Heal” Project to document progress and my experience.