Suzyann13

Hi, Sea4th, thank you for listing that site. I have a few others, but it's great to have more information. I read your web page about Pete, and I love it. Wonderful poems and beautiful dogs. --Suzanne

Hi. I'm training a BC mix puppy to be a comfort/therapy dog for my mother to help her with my father, who has Alzheimer's. I researched online and discovered that the first people to do therapy dog training for Alzheimer's were in Israel, and they say that collie breeds work best for that job because of sensitivity to people's feelings. Other breeds of dogs are more often used as therapy dogs for other purposes, from what I read so far, but one of the books I am reading (see below) says many breeds can be used for therapy purpose, depending on the individual dog's personality. I haven't finished training Mickey, but I can recommend two books for you to use as a source, if you want to. One is Therapy Dogs by Kathy Diamond Davis, and one is Partners in Independence by Ed and Toni Eames. Both are very helpful for what a trainer needs to learn.

Hi again! In researching that website, I found the names of two good books on therapy dogs, which I ordered (and already got one today!) It looks like just what I needed, and I thank you again for the info! Mickey had his vet visit today, and the results are he doesn't have parasitic invasions internally. The vet said either he was eating something he was allergic to, such as corn or wheat, or eating bowel movements (although I doubt that, because I keep him in the house and never take him outside off leash unless I'm watching him the whole time). He got his last set of shots, and the vet says he thinks Mickey's probably a GSD and BC mix, as I suspected, though he thinks it could be husky and BC instead. I don't know what huskies are like, but Mickey has the BC personality, at any rate. Mickey is learning rapidly, and I think he's going to be perfect for my mom and dad. --Suzanne

Hi. Thank you for the info! I have actually trained him a short stay, where he has to wait for a little while in sit position to get a treat. He does pretty well so far, and I plan to increase the time and then extend it to stay for other things. He's such a smart little guy! I trained my pug when she was little, and she ended up taking Reserve Grand Champion in obedience at the Benton Franklin County Fair dog show in her second year (about 18 months), which other people said that would be impossible for a young pug. I believe it's the intelligence of the dog and the persistance of the trainer that make a difference. My daughter has a pug, too, and he's about impossible to train for anything because of his "Odie" like intelligence level... I am excited to look up the website you gave me. I've been researching that for quite a while on the Internet, and the more I learn, the better for Mickey and for my parents. --Suzanne

Hi, and thank you for the ideas. I have already looked into puppy classes, and am considering the options here. I suspect it is certain treats that gives him poopy problems, because he only has diarrhea once in a while for half a day or so, but I will get him checked when we're at the vet. I was thinking that corn and wheat are bad for puppies, but that was just a feeling I had, and I hadn't heard other people say it. My two dogs don't do well on them. But I didn't know that rich foods might cause it as well. Yesterday I took him to my mom and dad's for a visit, and when they were outside for a few minutes, I used some small bits of treats and trained him to sit in less than 5 minutes. (Note that I didn't say sit and "stay" though!--he's not ready for stay quite yet). He's definitely smart! Anyway, thanks again, and I'll let you know how he's doing later on... --Suzyann13

Hi. My puppy, Mickey, is a 12 weeks old bc mix, probably GSD and BC for the most part. His personality and behavior are BC, in that he is extremely sensitive to noises, movements, and even shadow, he has a "herding" instinct, he rarely barks, he has the jump-nip thing (which we are working on stopping) and he is totally sweet in every way. So far in his training, he comes when called indoors (haven't started on outdoors yet), asks to go outside to potty (though he will still have an accident if I don't notice him asking), fetches toys, walks on leash (not started with "heel yet"), and responds well to "no." I am pretty happy with his general training. I intend to train him as a comfort/service dog for my parents because my dad has Altzheimer's. I researched online and found that collie/shepherd breeds are the best suited for this task because of their sensitivity. My questions are: 1) He gets diarrhea sometimes, and I suspect it's from certain treats. Are bc tummies sensitive to wheat or corn? His next vet visit is in a week, so I can ask the vet about it, but I thought someone here may have ideas. (He is pretty amazing in that when he has diarrhea, he holds it until he is outside, somehow.) 2) When I take him to see his mother (belongs to my granddaughter who got her from the pound already pregnant) sometimes his sister is also there to visit. If the mother is there alone, he is happy and plays with her and has a great time. If the sister is there, the mother and sister gang up on him and he wants to leave. Is this normal? I pretty much don't let him play with them if the sister is there, although if he happens to be around just the sister, she gets along with him OK. It's just strange. 3) At what age should I begin formal training, such as heel, sit, stay, and so on? He seems to learn fast, but the one time I tried "heel," he was totally confused and didn't want to do it. I didn't want to get him in a frame of mind that training isn't fun, so I left it alone. I posted photos of Mickey and his brothers and sisters in the bc photo gallery forum, in case you want to see them. Thank you for any help you can offer... --Suzyann13