The amazing Zorro

The last Two weeks haven't been that eventful for Zorro and I.  I was sick and my big brother is visiting. We've been working on front, get mom and go to bed.

Front, in my opinion is one of the easiest things to teach a dog (especially if  your awesome trainer had already introduce it to your dog). This is how i re-taught Zorro "front". 

First, every time he got in front of me i immediately said: front then yes. After doing this
 for about 2 days I started asking him to go to front from the left side of me, the right side, and far away from me.

Get mom is one of Zorro's favorite things to do because he gets to run around the house like a mad dog looking for my mom.  This is something that we have been working on for a little while, but it is always good to reinforce & he enjoys it. 

Zorro has trouble staying on his bed when I get on my wheelchair.  He wants to be by my side-with good reason, but he needs to learn to stay on the bed while I get on my chair.  What I've started doing is - as I'm getting on my wheelchair someone else is with Zorro telling him to wait and rewarding him. After getting on my wheelchair I start moving around little by little and rewarding him if he stays on his bed. His improving every day, but we still need to do some work.

Here are some ways Zorro has improved. 

He's coming when I call him. BIG DEAL!!! 
He stays on his bed when I'm NOT on my chair. AWESOME!! 
He's not grabbing EVERYTHING he sees. CRAZY!! 

Overall my dog is AMAZING!!! 

The adventures of Nissi and Zorro

This past Weekend Zorro and I Had quite an adventure.

Saturday morning we attended a 5K walk. When we first got there, Zorro was kind of out of it. I was expecting that, but after a while he began to calm down. He acted like it was another day at the park, which which really surprised me. I kept on thinking to myself "is this really my dog?". But it was!! My cute and adorable, Zorro!  And then I would just laugh. The rest of the time we were at the 5K he did really good, he wasn't even bothered by the other dogs barking at him. He would just look at me and go "mommy-help". 

Something else that he did really well on that day is that he would stay up on his spot in the car without moving for long periods of time.

Later on that day we went to another event, and even though we were both tired he did OK. I could tell that his brain was fried and I wasn't gonna get much training out of him, and again he surprised me by behaving. I don't think two events in one day was appropriate for this time.  I think he was a overloaded and that's not good for any dog in training.

 Sunday wasn't as eventful as the previous day but it was still eventful.  Zorro and I took our adventures to downtown San Antonio.  He did an excellent job in the car with little feeding and one or two corrections.  When we got there he did great, he was walking on side and after a while he was able to sit, down and wait.  I was so proud of my boy!  My aunt decided to bring her terrier mix and Zorro had a chance to practice ignoring him which was a very hard thing for him to do, but he did it so well.

Monday Zorro and I went to HEB (grocery store) and this time was not quite a success.  For some reason he got scared after being there for 20 minutes.  We were just walking around then we started walking towards the main aisle and he went berserk.  He was shaking, bouncing, moaning and pulling on the leash. He wanted out of that store and the only thing keeping him was my power chair.  To calm him down I slowly made my way to the door and camped outside the door until he had calmed down.  Then we tried it again a second time, but he was still really scared so I went outside again.  You know what they say, third time's a charm.  I noticed if I go in with a mission for example- me looking for my mom- he is much calmer.

So, how was your weekend???

 This week we're gonna be working on going to HEB without freaking out and we're also gonna be working on hold and come.

I've learned that I'm not giving my boy enough credit, I have been blessed with an incredible dog and I am truly grateful!!!

Nissi's Team

This past week Zorro and I worked on several things like wait, side, leave it, out, hold and being still at the dinner table.
But that's not what I want to talk about on this post. I want to talk about my amazing support team. You see, in my opinion it takes more than one person to train a service dog.

My Dad and Zorro get along very well, a little too well if you ask me. ;) Since I can't play rough with Zorro, it falls to my dad. Who is more than happy to do it.  For example, sometimes to calm Zorro down my dad plays tug of war with him. There are other things my dad does for/with me to train Zorro.  Like takes him out to the bathroom & does a little exercise early in the morning as I snooze & late at night when I'm exhausted. It would take me all day to tell you all the amazing and selfless things my dad does for Zorro and I --so kudos to my dad!!

Now, my mom.... Oh how I love my mom. She's always been the most patient with Zorro and I, as well as training for me when I'm sick or just need a break.  For instance she'll take over to do wait, go to bed & hold.  And just simply take over because Zorro is full of energy.  She is a beast!

Then there's sweet Tammy, I can't even describe how she has helped mentor and just BE a good friend.   Every time i need advice Tammy is always there to listen, understand & advise me in what to do.  She is just totally cool!

You see, I used to think I could train my dog on my own and boy was I wrong! I've learned that having a team of people really helps my sanity.  Never hesitate to ask.


 Ps Zorro has been doing a great job this week!!!!!!!!!!!

My boy!

We've been working in making sure he gets a workout of his brain as well as his body. We've notice that he can go on forever with his body, but he does tire easier in the brain. That will help so whenever he goes into his hennel he doesn't go crazy. Otherwise he will start barking and being annoying when I leave him alone.

Now he can go in and out of his kennel without any trouble, he actually likes his kennel.
We started working on nose work by having him turn on/off light switch, which will be one of his service dog duties.   He's getting the idea. Because i've been sick, I have not done most of the training so I think he's getting a little confused.  My helpers don't always know what they're doing..
I continue to work on him being still when he's tether to my chair, he's doing really well.at home as long as i feed him.

My plan is to take him to places and work him a little bit and then work on sitting sitting still while tether to my chair by my side.
  
It's been nice to be able to pet my dog without him jumping all over me. He is learning to project his energy elsewhere.


 His biggest problem still is that he wants to grab everything and chew it As soon as he's out of his kennel he thinks the house is a playground.
 
 Even though he's a lot for me to handle, i know we can work things out. We have an incredible connection that makes him want to help me and that gives me the courage to work harder. 

Zorro

My BULLET!!! ZORRO!!

Last Friday my dad took Zorro and I to Petsmart to train and to get some toys he badly needed & I guess my food wasn't tasty enough and there were too many distractions, suffice to say Petsmart was an utter disaster.

He was completely ignoring me, and would freak when he saw another dogs. He wanted to pee on every post, and he's leash kept on getting stuck on my wheelchair. When we finally did make it inside, he tried to grab every toy, that was kind of funny. I played with him inside the store and walked around and he was doing ok, until he peed on one of the shelves. He picked his favorite toy at Petsmart.
taking him to Petsmart was exhausting but also an eyeopener and I am glad we went.
I realize we need a lot more training, especially to focus on me instead of everything else.

We've been working on him learning to work with other people and he's coming along fine. For example,
"get mom," and my dad has been working on getting in/out of the car.

Working on "out" which is him releasing whatever he has in his mouth. Zorro is like a toddler, everything he sees he wants to put in his mouth. He has brought my pants, towels, gloves, shoes, carpet, socks, across the house, and when you try to take it out he thinks is play time and goes bersurk.

Lately we've out working on come, which he's very good at.
Another thing that I find amazing is that all my dogs learned to follow my around and Zorro is doing that very well.
I don't have to call me and he follows me everywhere on my side without a leash. Go Zorro!!!

He has graduated from being tether to everything to just being around like a civil dog, laying around near me or just being there. That proves that he's really calm down and beginning to have self control.

To be honest this past week has been pretty exhausting because training is very repetitive and requires more time. This is a good thing as far as training because that means zorro is making so much progress that we're moving on with the program. I am learning to pace myself and not to overwork myself, and to rest.

ZORRO!!!

Home depot here we come!!

Because I want to start taking  Zorro out, i decided to practice at home depot. Again getting in the car was a challenge.  He's ok getting in, but sitting still in the car while I am being strapped is a problem. He decided chasing chickens was more exciting.

At home depot, it took him a few minutes to unwind and to start listening to me. inside we waited by the main door, and i begun to tell him to sit, down so he could the idea that it was work time.  I realized at the door that he gets very distracted by people. I stuck to my guns and we sat there until he did everything I asked. then we walked around and he was great!!!  I talked to some people and at first he started moving around but if I told him to sit or down, he did it, and stopped moving around. As we walked around, his leash got stuck between my wheel and usually someone has to help me to unstuck it, but there was nobody, just zorro and I so i told zorro to down and he waited until i tilted my chair back and used my hand to pull out the leash.  He was a pure gentleman! That happened twice, and twice he was amazing.

Because zorro has such drive and strength, my parents thought that he was going to dismember me.  But  I've noticed that he is very gentle with me.  It's like he knows my weakness.  Another thing that he badly needed work  is him giving me  full body hugs.  I am glad to say that he's  calm down with hugs, and when he does make a mistake he quickly realizes it.        

We have added working on restaurant manners.  He has to sit at the table with the family and just lay there and do nada, which to zorro that's an act of God. To no surprise if i keep rewarding, he'll be ready for a restaurant in a few weeks???

this week zorro decided he didn't like the collar of his vest so he ate half of it.  

He's so cute i love him,  every time i look at him he makes me smile. because is like he's asking me "what do you want me to do next?" and nothing ti too hard for him.   

ZORRO!!

Saturday night i took Zorro out to check him on his side walking, because the first time I took him out he went crazy. I was kind of scared. But he surprised me and did amazing.  We walked all over the drive way and he stayed next to me the entire time. So mom and I decided it would be a good idea to take him to church Sunday morning. Just for about 1/2 hour or so. So he could begin to get used to environment and learn to deal with the noises, people and other distractions.

 So we took him, the hardest thing was to actually get him to the location.  He didn't want to get in the car, it was his first time in the car and so it took us a while to get him to calm down, when we finally did, he kept on wanting to drive. but after of 5 min of helping him calm down, he relaxed and laid down. by that time we had gotten him to church.

when we got there, he was very nervous, and didn't want to work. but shortly after, he calmed down and started working.  We walked all around the parking lot, and said hi to people arriving to church, from a safe distance, of course. I noticed that when he is nervous he refuses food and he kinda forget I exist also. While we were there we worked on sit, down and side. 3 things he knows well. I was amazed at how well Zorro did, Compared to Apollo and Trix-c, on their first outing. He did excellent!

So after about 1 hr or roaming around in the parking lot and near the church building,    took him back home.  

  

Yesterday, Zorro and i worked on side walking, come, and we walked on getting up on the training table.

He didn't want to do at first, but for free food he'll do anything.

   

My friend, Luke, took Zorro running last night to burn some energy off. Zorro got tired half way, which was surprising.

This morning we worked on the table. We also started working on baby steps to "get mom".  We want him to be able to work with other people, which is an issue with him.           

 Since I've gotten Zorro, its been nonstop for me, physically draining, but I have to say I haven't felt this alive in months.  My dog is exactly what i need, he's brilliant and full of life!

Update on training my new service dog!

Catching up with my new amazing, vibrant, young, in training service dog ZORRO.

It was time for me to retire my trix-c girl. My trainers and I found my new dog.  We started training immeditaly but no one knew that he had so much energy and life in him. But, I was up for the challenge! So for 6 weeks we got to know each other. He was in intensive training with my trainer Tammy. I was ready for him to move in. because I was very sad about my girl leaving. This past tuesday, the bullet (Zorro) moved in. Dog on steroids.  Lets just say it has been an eventful 4 days.

To start the bonding process nobody was allowed to handle him but me, that  means his feeding and his training. We started working on sit,down,wait, side, and come. Even though he already knew these things, I had to remind him because he had never lived with a large, loud family like mine. He is doing well, considering he's only being here a few days.

In our house, we also have a maltese who thinks he's god. he snapped at zorro and zorro shook him up.
After we had that scare, we insure they are supervised, they have learned to ignore each other.

The biggest issues right now are him going crazy and his lack of personal space. We are working on civilizing him, he loves bouncing off the walls and running full speed up and down the house. He also does not know personal space, he has none whatsoever. He awkwardly jumps on my lap trying to show affection...he's gotta learn to control where he points his nose too! 
        
He is now convinced that I am his one and only and he does not like it when other people grab him, he runs away from them.

Zorro spends most of his time in his crate, except when I am working with him. This is part of the learning process is for him to know that I am his main source of survival.

Right now we are working on learning to settle down, to do that we tether him to my sofa and put his doranda bed next to it and we reward him when he's quiet and still, this teaches him that he doesn't always need to move around, because I'm not always going to move around..  He's doing alright, it's a process.

A few days ago he finally realized that I'm the boss! It was like he was saying: "oh so I am suppoused to listen to you?!".
 
Yesterday, instead of  training on my wheelchair, we trained on the sofa, it was our first time. 
Zorro came to the realization that my wheelchair and I are not the same. That was exciting!!!   

The 3 most important things I want to work on with him are; side, come, and being still/settling down.

Physically this has been a struggle, emotionally it has been a roller-coaster because it's so stressful.
I need help, and sometimes my family doesn't understand what I am doing. We are learning together.

Trix-C doing her thing

More videos to come