Day One - Life with a Chancer, an FASD Service Dog

I began blogging a long time ago - just before Chancer joined us . . .

Here is our story - please enjoy it.

Our first Day

(written 1.29.08)

Do the words exist?

Imagine walking into a building and being greeted by the sound of over 50 dogs saying

“Are you my human?” at the same time.

We didn't know where to look first.

Of course our initial focus was on finding Chancer!

We scurried through the first room filled with crate after crate of dogs of every size and shape...into the training room at 4 Paws. On our left were 8 crates lined up against the wall containing our new buddies. Chancer was in a crate half way down the aisle. In a flash there was chaos with the children and families running to find their dog. Kids squealing with delight as parents whipped out their video cameras to record the moment. The training room was divided in half. One half had a huge circle of chairs for the actual training class with the other half housing the same amount of space dedicated as a play place for the kids. 4 Paws has been gifted with many donations of therapeutic toys and games. Things to climb and of course the usual game cube, video stuff and art supplies.

We began our training with Jeremy, the head trainer.

The families introduced themselves and said the name of their SD. There were 8 families in total, with children ranging in age from 2 to 15. The majority of kids were affected with Autism and many had additional challenges such as seizure disorders or immobility. Two-year-old Ryleigh is medically fragile and has a feeding tube. She is unable to hold herself up and looks as though she is only six to eight months.

Our class consisted of the one each of the following breeds;

• Chancer- Golden Retreiver,
• Keno - Great Pyrenees, all white and probably 100 lbs!,
• Tinsel - Australian Shepherd mix,
• Jedi - Golden Labrador, Claire - Boxer,
• Hero - Standard Poodle,
• Lady - German Shepherd,
• Ray - Collie.

An incredible assortment of amazing canines. Today was spent covering some fundamental issues of training, how to use the training leashes and treats and the beginning of Basic Obedience. Jeremy taught us how to correct the dogs and reward withe the appropriate motivators. We learned, "Sit", "Down" and by the end of the class were able to put our dogs in "a Down" and walk away from the dog for about 10-15 seconds without the dog moving from his position.

What a wonderful feeling to be successful the first day.

Chancer is a love...affectionate, responsive and confident. At the end of the day today, we took Chancer home with us back to our hotel. 4 Paws loaned all the families crates for the duration of the training. We were given food and any other necessities for the night.

Iyal was much more self-initiating with Chancer that I had expected. He kissed and pet Chancer a lot.