Day Eight Comes To An End

Well, eight down, three to go. Today was relatively normal by the standards that have been set. We worked on tricks this morning during obedience. Shake, Hi-Five, Five, Play Dead, and Roll Over were the biggies. We won't use all of them with Sean, but it was pointed out that when you present such amazing dogs to kids, it is inevitable that the first question posed by them is, "What tricks does s/he do?" It's cool, it's fun, and it's a nice break. Mojo is hesitant, but we'll work on it.

One of the things that we have learned is that if you train a dog to do things "on command," they will periodically do them "off command," or on their own. We are careful in the thing that we are working with Mojo on, especially when they can be things that might knock Sean off-balance. Dad will keep them in the repertoire, but only at the fringe edges. As Sean grows, we can add them into everyday use.

We finished the obedience portion with a session outdoors. We worked some off-lead commands (no leash). Mojo, as has been posted previously, is bored. He REALLY showed it today. During the session on pavement, he took off into a kennel to get a ball when he was supposed to be coming to Mom. Luckily, Mom was able to trap him in and control the situation. Then, when we went out into an open "play" area to work on the "come" command, Mojo refused, preferring to play with a deflated basketball. We have gotten some sage advice from Jeremy and will work to correct this issue. No worries!

We transistioned into tracking later in the morning. Another classmate hid with him today, someone new. Dad handled during the track. We had a couple of major distractions that threw Mojo off the track. After some remediation and advice, we continued and the track was finished successfully. So much to learn, so little time. He's really learning Sean's scent by having his companion changed with every track. He's getting good - read on.

The afternoon consisted of a Q & A session and a run through of some of the finer things that we need to know. Little things like feeding, mouth/tooth care, ear care, grooming, and proper play items for the dogs. It was very enlightening. Jeremy is full of wonderful stories and we already have a couple of our own. It really is amazing how much misinformation that there is out there.

We had dinner at the hotel tonight and Mojo performed the way you would expect a service dog to. He slept. Grandma showed up during dinner (having driven over from IL after work), making life for Sean a little brighter than having to deal with Mom and Dad alone. G-ma will stay through graduation to help keep an eye on Sean as Mom and Dad learn. We spent the evening at the mall, working with the mobility harness (a stiff handle/harness that Sean can hold onto), going up and down a long flight of stairs. We practiced with the elevator (there are procedures for such things), and then did a short mall track that Mojo completed with ease. What was cool about it was that was the first track that we had ever done without Jeremy being there.

Tomorrow? Who knows. I guess you'll have to check in to find out.

Feel free to comment on the posts. We love to hear from you and to answer any questions you may have. It may take a day, two, or five to get back to you, but every question will get answered. If you feel like it's taking too long, resubmit the question.

Also, a preemptive warning. We will leave on Saturday morning. The primary blog writer is going to have to get ready to teach on Monday upon our return home, along with catching up on two weeks away from the classroom. Blogs may be hit and miss during the first week home. He will do his best to note all major accomplishments and get them up as soon as possible.

Wearily submitted by Sean's Dad.