Kona Update!

Well it has been a while since my last post things have been crazy busy here in the Cullen family. We have had some illnesses, some visitors, big and small events, milestones in Kona's training and activities....OH boy I am tired just thinking about it all again.

On an amazing note however, Kona has been the most spectacular little girl. She learns so fast, so fast in fact that it seems like she has her grandmothers DNA linked right into her memory. We have had so many adventures and had some great outings which I will post photo's and details in some future posts. Kona has also alerted and responded to thee seizures now and it is a pretty great feeling thinking that as she matures we will have some peace of mind knowing that Bern will not have to worry so much when he needs to be somewhere else. Kona has been actively working with me now at work. If I drop something no matter what she is doing, sleeping, getting a hello pat from clients, eating her lunch; she stops and comes to assist me and picks whatever I dropped up and returns it to me.

Kona's new array of skills include:Retrieving dropped items: pens, scissors, coins, credit cards, bottles of medication, even the occasional treat which she reluctantly gives to me only to get it right back again LOL)

Opening Automatic Doors: Kona does this by pushing the automatic door button with her paws occasionally her nose but her preferred method is paws as she so rarely gets to use them

Go To *****: This is command given by either Bernie or I at this point to direct Kona to go to one of us i.e. "Go to Lisa" to "Go to Bernie" At some point this will be expanded to other people she will have frequent contact with like the girls at work. We will use this to bring items back and forth like medication pouch or water bottle, memo's you name it; also for locating help if I were unable to get up or was in a serious situation and later on it will be able to be used to find me if this is needed

Seizure Work: Kona has been taught to lay across my chest (if I am laying) or get onto my lap and press against my chest(if I am sitting) if I seizure, this does several things from preventing me crashing forward when in a sitting position and going into a seizure, preventing anyone form interfering if I am down with a seizure. Injuries can happen with good Samaritans who have the best of intentions but may not be well versed in seizure first aid, also people have robbed persons when in a seizure this is a discouragement, though the dog will not attack she will not move, she even pushes Bernie out of the way now...he is getting used to the idea realizing it is not to cut him out of my care but to make sure when he is not there I am safe. This also prevents me from getting up from a seizure in a post-ictal state, this is the state after a seizure but before clear conciseness or awareness, some of my seizures I appear aware and even will say yes, when asked if I am ok but I could walk into traffic, Kona will be able to prevent this or prevent me from thrashing about hurting myself. This is one of the most important reasons a seizure dog will make my life more normal you can see why I can't be left alone with out a way to prevent serious or life threatening injury as I am not aware of my surroundings when these seizures hit.

Licks: Yes, licks (though she comes by this one easily) Kona has now been encouraged to lick my cheek when I start to come out of a seizure, this is a consistent action when done repeatedly after a seizure helps the brain ground to something familiar and repetitive, even if I am not fully aware the brain recognizes the action and this seems to help ease stress when coming out of a seizure. (I am not sure of the science or action behind this or if any data has been done, however this has been relayed to me by many people who have SD's that re trained in this manner as well Bernie tells me there is a significant difference in my anxiety/panic/stress when coming out I seem more confused than stressed in these instances, I know I was told the same thing with Java once I had her also, I would love to see a study done on the affects of brain waves with this stimulus and without....anyone from Harvard Neurological or St Mike's out there reading??? )

Laundry Skills: YES LADIES laundry, you may not be able to get your teens to do their own wash or your hubby or hubbette (have to be fair to both sexes since mine does do laundry) to sort the whites for the darks but KONA is learning to do this. Her grandmother was a wiz at laundry eventually even learning to help me fold items like towels and sheets (I swear it is true! She was even featured on the television show "Healing With Animals" and shown doing the laundry. Any way once again I digress a common theme with me when talking about my dogs....who am I kidding when talking writing or thinking of just about everything. So, Kona is right now learning to pick up laundry and place it in a laundry basket as directed this is step one and she quite likes it....so much so that she gets excited about getting another item and forgets to open her mouth to drop the first item sometimes....the look on her face is a riot when she tried to discern why this piece of laundry is following her back to the pile...she soon gets it and all goes smoothly for about four or five pieces and then again a rogue sock or face cloth follows her back again and she whirls around to see if the others are also breaking loose from their confinement. I can hardly wait till she tried to figure out how to get the clothes out of the dryer or washer LOL!
All in all it has been an eventful few months. think with time constraints and such Kona and i will reserve our blog post of a once a week highlight reel! Though we have lots of catching up to do to show you some of Kona's adventures over the last couple of months and lots of video and pictures to add to the site. Here is where it really gets interesting as Kona is just a little sponge right now and loving learning every new thing we show her.

Kona making friends with the goats at the Midland Winter Fair in February 2010. She was fascinated with the goats no idea what it was about them but she sure did like them, even when one tried to head butt her to play she seemed to want to hang with them. She was not however as trilled with the llama (at least I think it was a llama may have been one of the other similar critters but you get the idea). Kona was 4 feet from the big draft horses as they pulled wagons of people and she never even cared even though one of their hooves were bigger than her whole body at the time you would have thought she saw them every day. The funny thing is we just found out a few weeks ago that the man leading those teams of horses was the father of one of the clinic staff Candace, he recognized Kona one day at the clinic when they picked up their dog we groomed.....small town living gotta love it

Kona's First Offical Visit

Today Kona had her first official visit with. Dr. S has been the vet who cared for both Kiwi and Java once I moved back to Ontario and was the biggest support I could have when I had to decide to put Java down. It was the hardest day of my life, I think, and it was the worst decision that I have ever had to choose. I know that means I have lead a fortunate life given my life decisions have not been to bad at least not until that day.

I will never forget how dead I felt inside and how considerate and how compassionate Dr. S was, she knew he significance of what my decision would mean, she knew Java was my independence, my security and my best friend in the world. Though I also know that her heart is huge and regardless of whether this was my service dog and my partner or if it someone's pet that she was needing to put down her empathy would be equally as huge. I know this more every day that I am fortunate enough to see her work, and see how she so deeply cares for every pet she see's; be it a $5.99 hamster or a $30,000.00 guide dog that someone eye's, her compassion and passion is boundless.

I marvel at how even behind the scenes she loves these animals deeply and feels so much for the human clients that trust her with their care; Dr. S is a true model of kindness and humanitarianism. All of the staff at her clinic are like this, one would think that this would be standard operating procedure in a Vet clinic but it isn't always the case. I have worked in clinics where not all the staff showed this level of care and compassion. In fact I have found that when you are behind the scenes and working within the ranks you quickly discover that not everyone is always as they seem; this is true for many things in life and many occupations of course but having he advantage of seeing people daily in all kinds of situation, when they may be tired or stressed or having a bad day gives you a bit of a window into the kind of people they really are. In this clinic Dr. S must be very particular as to the people she hires to work in the clinic and I really can't see someone lasting very long there who didn't show the level of care and compassion for both human and animal clients alike that I have witnessed. You just would not fit in, not in the least not with the passion these people show for their jobs and the animals that cross their door.

Though I  don't work for the clinic, I work in partnership with and in  the clinic and we share clients often.The care given is reflected in the dedication of the clients, many of whom have followed Dr. S from clinic to clinic and now that she has opened her own clinic they have nestled their pets into her wonderful care,and what a great place and great people to entrust your pets care to. When you get to see people working behind the scenes you get to really see what they are like and I can tell you I would trust any one of those wonderful compassionate women with the care of any of my pets and that says something. They make the clinic go from a place you take sick animals to a place of healing; sometimes that healing is your pets health and sometimes it is your heart but their compassion, concern and the depth of their devotion and interest in the well being of the clients, be they two legged or four, feathers, fur or skin makes this a place I am proud of being even associated with in a small way and the only place for my fur family.

Dr. S won me over long ago and cemented that with her incredible care of both Java and I in Java's last hours. She called me every day for a week to ask how I was, maybe to some that is not such a big thing but to me it was everything; my whole world just fell apart and the one person who sat with me and shared my pain in my eyes had changed from my vet to my friend and I will ever be grateful for her understanding and I truly believe she knew how deep I hurt.

Even though it has been over 4 years now, it is only in the last year I can speak about loosing Java, even saying her name fills my heart with such pain, some may think this extreme but if you knew Java, if you knew what she did for my life, you would understand; she gave me something no person could, she gave me the opportunity to be whole again, to feel capable, to feel secure no matter what the location or circumstance because I knew if I was going to seizure I would know at least 15 minutes ahead and I could get to safety or out of the public eye. When I did have the seizure she would keep me safe and pull the bath tub plug so I wouldn't drown or she would roll me over so I didn't choke if I vomited, she would orient me when I came around getting me to safety or home, call 911 or get help, get my medication; she made me whole and functional without needing to have a babysitter 24/7 I was able to be a grown up. I could have a bath without needing someone to call me every 5 minutes to be sure I had not drowned. She made it so I felt I could live life like everyone else, a whole me, people didn't have to worry about leaving me alone for a few hours, what I wouldn't give for my husband to be able to go to the Y or anywhere without worrying the whole time if I was laying on the floor injured or burned because I was cooking when I had a seizure. I lost all of that when Java died and I lost my confidence which I had never been short of; I lost the comfortableness I had felt when out in public. I am always wondering if or when a seizure will hit worrying that any odd feeling is a warning . I don't get an aura usually so I get little warning but now I feel the need to try and guess if something I feel is a warning since my early warning system is no longer with me.

I think that day I put Java to sleep I put part of me to sleep too, the part that used to take on the world and never look back. Java was initially given sedation (Ketval) prior to the euthanasia, most dogs fall into a sleep or semi sleep state; Java however refused, she looked into my eyes the entire time she never once took her eyes off me, her body finally had to give into the sedation a bit and she slide into a down and I went down with her to be near her , maybe more for me than her I don't know really, but even then she watched me. She watched me until her heart stopped beating and we had to close her eyes.

I remember two things clearly about that day like it was yesterday; my heart was dying in my chest, I remember feeling dead inside myself, like as her life extinguished mine did too, it felt like that even if it was not the case. The second thing I remember is feeling dread as I thought about why she would not stop looking at me and I remember saying to Dr. S  that she wouldn't close her eyes wondering did she think that maybe she was looking at me asking or wondering why I was doing this to her and it was Dr. S who said the words that have made my decision of that day one I have managed to live with without hating my self for choosing it each day. She told me she didn't think so, that Java was very devoted to me and took her job of caring for me seriously and that she loved her job and me. That she believed right to the very moment of her death that Java was doing her job looking after me and watching me to make sure I was OK. She really did know Java to say that because that one statement encompassed who Java was, her love and devotion, her loyalty and her nobility .

Java's rareness and specialness was remarkable,no creature had a bigger heart or selflessness but her legacy now lives on and in her, granddaughter, Kona. I think my world is again shifting, for the better. Kona is showing such promise and so much of Java, it is joyful and painful all at once, she is a minx but loves to learn and is never more happy than when we are working on tasks. She does exactly what Java used to, she is shown the task once or twice, she tries it, she gets it, she understands it and OK we learned that now what's next! Java's ability to learn 7 different disciplines of training fully were directly related to this kind of attitude to anything she tackled, she loved to learn and do, she was self motivated and devoted and Kona is the same through and through. She tackles mischief with the same drive, vigor and quick processing...and so did JAVA. Java was a going concern as a pup and tormented Kiwi like Kona does the boys in our menagerie.....Not to be corny but I

think there is more coffee in this pot and I just found my second perfect cup.

Oh the results of Kona's visit with Dr.S well lets see.... Kona finds Dr. S is a wonderful chew toy and gives the best back scratches, has tasty buttons, warm hands and a very kind interesting voice, they are going to be great friends. Dr. S  found that Kona is growing by great leaps she has doubled in size since we brought her home and even since last week she went from 7.2 pounds to 10.4 pounds today. Her eye's are good not entropian or ectropian, she does have a grade one very faint heart murmur which we already

knew about and Dr. S has confirmed but it is an innocent murmur which means we expect her to outgrow it. All in all she is presenting as a healthy, bubbly, naughty, Labrador puppy and with Dr. S's help we aim to keep her that way!

Step by Step Stills of Puppy Turning On Light Switch

Light Switch Learning

Let there be LIGHT

Kona and I have been working on training the first steps to Kona turning on a light switch. She is getting the idea fairly well. I have made a video of her doing it and I am hoping if I have made the video correctly and/or can figure out how to add one into this blog I am about to include it....If not I will keep trying.


Here goes nothing.......Wish me luck








In the video we introduce a hand held switch and plate with a piece of tape attached; this has two purposes it gives the puppy something of interest to target to and encourages the puppy to used it's nose and mouth to manipulate the tape. Everything we teach comes in steps so it is important to understand that this is just the introduction phase and it looks more like the puppy is chewing on the light switch which it is at this time. Our goal is to gain the puppy's interest in recognising a target (the switch) then coupling a cue word with the action (light) the important thing at this stage is to get her excited about touching the switch, allowing the mouthing sets the ground work for later when we will ask for her to put pressure on the switch to push it up.

This particular switch has been altered so we can hold it in our hand ,later she will move to one mounted on a plank and eventually the wall at low level then graduate to the wall at normal switch level. As you can see there are many many steps to teaching a puppy to smoothly follow a directed command to go to a light switch in a room, get up on the wall with front paws and turn it on or off for that matter which is done with the paws. We call this chaining where we teach each step slowly and one at a time building on every stage with a new or more precise step. Through the blog you will begin to understand how it is that we connect the dots to make a complex behaviour such as this one something that our assistance dogs do with ease.

I am sorry the video quality is so poor i only have dial up and I think this may affect what quality I can post if any of you would like me to email the video please drop me a line and I will gladly do so. I also notice the sound did not transfer (my limited skills if anyone would like to online tutor me in video transferring and creation I would greatly appreciate it). What I am saying each time I introduce the light is "Light" when she touches it I glide it down word to make the switch go up and show her that action other than touch is needed. If you notice the last frame she is moving towards the light and touching with less action from me.... all of this was accomplished with about 10 attempts in less than 5 minutes. It is important at such a young age to keep lessons short, action packed (to keep their interest) and to end will success and before they tire of the lesson. Now we will likely not work on this again for at least a day maybe two, this gives time for Kona to absorb the process and too much frequency too soon can get boring for a puppy. I will test the waters of interest by introducing the switch again without pressure just showing it to Kona and see if she shows interest then if she is excited about seeing the switch we will do a few rounds again as we did ending with some big rewards.

Powder Kegs, Seizures and Love that Grows

I am a little scarce right now on the posts, I am going to need meds changes for my brain as swelling has made me a little off when it comes to concentration and function; so it has been a bit of a challenge for me as I am not typically used to being short on words (verbal or in type format) and certainly not on idea's.

Kona has been a wonderful respite to a frustrating time for me, she is such a powder keg, she makes me laugh when I want to cry. I marvel at the fact that when she plays with the Ruger and Radar she gives no quarter even though they are individually more than 70 and 90 pounds heavier than she is, we weighed her today at the clinic and she was 7.8 pounds. Collectively it would seem there is just no chance the wee little girl has a chance but, continually she comes out the victor in every wrestling match and look out if they get the better of her because she makes them pay.

Kona reminds me of my sisters and I growing up 7 girls to 3 boys makes for a very unequaled balance and given that we girls were taught by our mother to be strong capable women who could do anything boys or men could do......well lets just say the boys rarely got the bathroom in the morning and we really didn't care too much what that meant for them. Of course I think I might have been the worst of the group of us girls even though I was the second youngest of ten; I often charged my girlfriends money to watch my brother wash my brother-in-laws car in his cut off jean shorts (yes, he was a cutie). I also continually stole his high school ID card to sell my gal pals for 25 cents; he would be in trouble for loosing as it cost my mother at least a dollar each time to replace it; I on the other hand could buy candy for a week with the cash I made off of his good looks.....I won't even go into the line up to peek in his bedroom window! Yes, Kona and I are well matched in our desire to get the better of the boys in our lives and create mischief where ever we go and every day I love her more and more. I didn't think I be able to open my heart quite as big as I did since loosing Java but here this wee little mite is making me fall long and hard for her; that enthusiasm and spunk of hers is intoxicating.

Kona was remarkable last night, she started really carrying on at one point and making the strangest sound. We let her out, gave her more water, played with her trying to console what ever was disturbing her but nothing was working; ten minutes later I had a TC (Tonic Clonic) seizure. As soon as the seizure stopped Bernie said she curled up and went to sleep. I am hoping beyond hope that the initial testings that we did and the behaviour we saw pans out to not only find a great service dog in the making but also a seizure alert prospect which we can not train. We can train the response behaviours for after the fact of a seizure which is also significantly important but to get an alert dog is the bonus that would really be fantastic! Time will tell and we will need to see much more of this behaviour as she ages and for it to become increasingly consistent.

Since my seizures have never been able to be completely controlled by medication or surgery I am a great person to test a dog like this out on as I will give her lots of opportunity to see if this is a consistent behaviour or not.

Tomorrow I am off to the doctors for meds reviews and specialist referrals, I don't think Kona will come into the doctors with me tomorrow as she is still very young to be asked to walk around the office and it is not appropriate to carry her in. However we will likely stop at a mall after where she can put on her cape and we can sit on a bench and she can get used to the sights and sounds of the mall without having to be thrusts into it all at once. Not that I think it will phase her but I prefer to give her all the benefits of the slow and steady process of early puppy education and non of the stress of a sink or swim mentality. Cheers everyone from Kona and Lisa

Little feet and first steps

Sunday came and went pretty uneventfully in the Cullen Menagerie. A winter storm has been in the area for two days now, much like most of the Country (well the world actually according to news briefs) and on our side of the lake we seem to get more than our fair share of snow; such is the price you pay for living in Gods Country.

Because of the storm it seemed that most of our animals had the good sense to want to curl up near the fire place and sleep the day away. Other than a few brief spurts of unabashed, joyful puppiness, Kona joined them in their pursuit of doggy dream land; a place no human can attend and yet we spend much time trying to guess at what it is our canine pals dream about, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to escape once in a while to watch them revel in their world where human boundaries don’t exist.

Monday was going to be the big day for Kona so rest was well in order….

Monday would be Kona's first day at work in the clinic with me, it was the perfect day to introduce Kona to life in the Clinic and Grooming shop since is was a quiet day; what is that old saying "Slow and steady wins the race", well that saying couldn't be more aptly applied than in reference to teaching puppies and dogs.

Arrivals are always chaotic so until everyone was booked in and settled Kona went into one of the Kennels, as she gets older and is big enough to not accidentally get stepped on and once she has enough immunity from vaccinations, she will be right at my feet but for now it was the kennel; keeping her safe is the most important thing. I half expected Kona to complain while in the kennel but she never made a peep. She sniffed around for a moment and then curled herself up onto the blanket I put in there for her bed. When she needed to go out to do her business she rang her bell. All in all she was a model employee at Huronia.

Since Kona is not fully vaccinated (we like two doses of DA2PP under her belt before we feel she has enough antibodies) she would not be on the clinic floor, where she is most likely to come into contact with potentiall pathogens, though the floor is constantly scrubbed and disinfected, caution is the name of the game so we take no chances. She will also only be in contact with dogs we know and that we can be assured they have immunization but also that they do not go to area's where they could be potential carriers of viruses on their feet etc. However, all of this does not mean that Kona's time at work is wasted, she is getting used to the sounds of equipment used, the very busy atmosphere and meeting the staff as well as the safe pets.

Kona's first task was to help Candace (one of our vet technicians) to check a fecal sample in the microscope. Kona then got busy on the computer booking in clients.....so I thought next thing I catch her surfing the net checking out her blog! OK, so a little humour but what is life with out humour right, as well the many hands handling Kona is a very good thing for her, not to mention the equipment


exposure.


For now I need to sign off folks as little and big paws need my attention and not all of them canine. I will write more later and post a few more pictures of Kona's big day. She is a remarkable little gal and has no fear .... of anything, she takes on the 95lb police trained GSD like he was a squeaky toy and he just loves her to no end. It is rather sad actually to see him mourning and moping when he can't get near her; if he is this enamoured already what are we going to do when she is 6 months old.

The Aussie is a little less impressed by her puppy teeth, he is waiting until she gets the concept of running away (not towards) him so he can herd her, Kona is not so convinced this is a game she wants to play, so poor Radar may be in for a surprise as he is quite used to the other dogs just falling into place but miss Kona has a mind all her own!

A new generation begins

Kona has been amazing. She slept through the first night and woke only at 5:30 am to go out to pee. I think she would have slept longer except I got up myself to go to the bathroom and my big male GSD decided he had to do another bed check and make sure she was OK....this consisted of him rolling her over and sniffing her so who can blame her for waking up.


Kona is a big hit and the other dogs are fascinated with her especially our big male GSD stud dog; he is already so concerned with her whereabouts and if she wanders off to sleep under the sofa we know where she is because he lays there with his nose (the only thing that fits) under the sofa making funny sounds like he is in mourning until we bring her out. Then he smells her all over, licks her while she chews on his face and all is good and right in the world again. He is fairly convinced we brought her home for him as a late Christmas gift.

As I was taking the Christmas tree apart, Bern was busy snow blowing and Kona decided to be my assistance dog already. It was pretty funny watching her try and remove what decorations she could reach and then pull on the tree branches.....funny enough the day before she didn't bother and it wasn't until I started to take things apart that she felt the need to get involved. She follows me around a lot and Bern is convinced she is already bonded like crazy to me because when I walk into the room or talk her head snaps to where I am and she will even run to me and paw my feet. She certainly thinks I am her giant chew toy she enjoys my fingers apparently they taste just wonderful.

Today we worked on some early skill building and set up an x-pen (just what it sounds like a portable pen to keep puppies safe which can be used indoors). At this time Kona spends training time in the X-pen. We set it up to have a multiple function, to contain her in one area but also to stimulate and challange her senses. There are toys hanging form a cross bar at varying levels and with different textures and sounds. We also have a tube (an old wrapping paper tube works great and is easily disposed of if it gets gnawed) going across the width of the pen at a low level, this acts as a mental challenge as well as a great way to teach the puppy to go under obstacles, of course the encouragement is her food is on one side and the exit on the other but she figured it out to quickly so I will need to upgrade my system some.




Also in the pen is a platform to encourage her to step up and do early learned ups, jump on etc. It also acts as a platform in front of the door to exit which gives Kona a bit of a step up to help while she is so little. We have tied a cord with bells attached and if Kona pulls on the bells we open the door. This often takes a few days to grasp but Kona has figured out that shaking the bells equals freedom. She has also been very good at targeting which is touching a specific targeted spot for a treat. It can be a piece of tape on s stick, a target button or the palm of my hand but the goal is when I say touch, place your nose on the object and gain a reward. She loves this one and up practice!



In the pen we have a small board which has a large round, battery operated push light on it the kind you buy in the dollar stores ( I use this as a target for later work on pushing elevator buttons and auto doors etc) on the same board is attached a non working light switch that Kona is encouraged to just make contact with right now, while I tell her good switch and later we will ask for her to hit it up with her nose and once she understands how to paw items with her feet she will paw it down to a different command, but I am getting ahead of myself here.

I have video of her doing some tasks also and once I train myself how to post it I will be doing so.

Kona is a character for sure, with just enough of a mind of her own to make a good potential seizure dog but a good amount of empathy too. She recognizes when I yelp if she bites too hard that this is a signal to stop and she does. All in all a great combo!

Cudos to her breeder Kim and Mom (Rosie) & Dad (Otis) and thanks for a great girl! BTW Kim does have a few pups left so anyone looking for a great, intelligent puppy email me and I will connect you with Kim