At my church there are two boys who absolutely love Morey! They want to give him commands and play with him and I have had to be careful to establish some firm rules with them. One compromise we have made is that on Wednesday nights, they can play with Morey after church, but not before. I bring his tennis ball and we play fetch or hide and seek once church is over.
This week we were playing "find"/hide and seek with his ball. Morey likes to try to "cheat" and watch where they are hiding the ball, so I always have to cover his eyes. One of the boys (who is 6) said "You need to teach Morey to cover his eyes with his paws so you don't have to do it." I tried not to laugh at the mental image of Morey covering his own eyes with his paws.
The next time we went through this routine, the other boy was hiding the ball and so I was asked "Doesn't Morey know how to close his eyes?" while I was using his vest as a makeshift blindfold (my dog is so patient!). "No, that's not something he knows how to do." I replied, thinking he meant does he know how to close his eyes on command. He looked at me and asked "How does he sleep if he doesn't know how to close his eyes?" Laughing, I clarified that he knows how to close his eyes, but it's not something he can do on command. I guess that's something we can work on if we ever run out of training ideas!
Although Morey knows lots of cool stuff, leave it to 2 kids to point out things he doesn't know how to do. It definitely gave me a good laugh though! : )
Morey
Morey, My 2nd Service Dog
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Morey's Night in the Dorm
It's been in the 90s in Austin for the past few weeks, which is way too hot to leave Morey in my van. That's usually what I do when I go to the gym after work to push in my rugby chair (I use the gym at UT so it doesn't make sense to go back to my apartment between work and working out). Now that it's hot, I have to figure out a new plan.
One of my teammates goes to UT and lives in the dorm so I asked if Morey could stay in his room while we pushed. He likes Morey (still have yet to find a person who doesn't!), so he was fine with that. He had forgotten something in his room and took Morey with him while he went to get it. When he came down he said "Oh, I left Morey with some of my friends because they wanted to play with him and I thought it would be more fun for him than being my himself in my room". Immediately images of chaos and rule breaking flashed through my mind, but I had met those friends before and they seemed sensible enough, so I reluctantly left Morey there and went to work out. (Pretty much any time I leave Morey it is with some reluctance but I'm trying to work through the early stages of separation anxiety.)
When we got back, Morey was playing fetch with a tennis ball in the hall. From all accounts he had a fun evening being admired by all the students who were missing their pets from home. I got lots of offers to babysit Morey again and lots of comments on how smart and good he is. He doesn't seem like he has been corrupted at all by his evening of adventures in the dorm so I'll call it a success.
One of my teammates goes to UT and lives in the dorm so I asked if Morey could stay in his room while we pushed. He likes Morey (still have yet to find a person who doesn't!), so he was fine with that. He had forgotten something in his room and took Morey with him while he went to get it. When he came down he said "Oh, I left Morey with some of my friends because they wanted to play with him and I thought it would be more fun for him than being my himself in my room". Immediately images of chaos and rule breaking flashed through my mind, but I had met those friends before and they seemed sensible enough, so I reluctantly left Morey there and went to work out. (Pretty much any time I leave Morey it is with some reluctance but I'm trying to work through the early stages of separation anxiety.)
When we got back, Morey was playing fetch with a tennis ball in the hall. From all accounts he had a fun evening being admired by all the students who were missing their pets from home. I got lots of offers to babysit Morey again and lots of comments on how smart and good he is. He doesn't seem like he has been corrupted at all by his evening of adventures in the dorm so I'll call it a success.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Rugby update
Since I've spent so much time talking about Nationals, here's a quick overview of how our team did. I am not a starter on the team, but one of our starters had his chair broken on the flight to Alabama. We thought it was fixed but 5 minutes before the first game we found out it wasn't. So, the coach turned to me and said "Ok, you're starting." Um, sure coach! My first time competing at Nationals and all of a sudden I'm a starter!
We were playing a team we have come close to beating, but never have. At the end of the first quarter when I came out of the game, we were down by 2. Not too bad. Unfortunately we lost the game and also our second game that day.
We beat one of our biggest rivals that we have struggled to beat all season by 1 goal at the last second. It was a very exciting game!
We played for 5th and 6th on Sunday and lost by 1 point in overtime (you can watch me play in this game at http://www.vimeo.com/22515424- I come into the game 9 minutes and 30 seconds into the clip). It was a tough loss after a hard fought game and a disappointing way to end the season. Our team had 4 new players and we came a long way from the beginning of the season. Hopefully we will continue to grow and improve next season.
It was fun for me to see some friends and players I haven't seen since last March. It was a great weekend of rugby and socializing, although it was exhausting.
We were playing a team we have come close to beating, but never have. At the end of the first quarter when I came out of the game, we were down by 2. Not too bad. Unfortunately we lost the game and also our second game that day.
We beat one of our biggest rivals that we have struggled to beat all season by 1 goal at the last second. It was a very exciting game!
We played for 5th and 6th on Sunday and lost by 1 point in overtime (you can watch me play in this game at http://www.vimeo.com/22515424- I come into the game 9 minutes and 30 seconds into the clip). It was a tough loss after a hard fought game and a disappointing way to end the season. Our team had 4 new players and we came a long way from the beginning of the season. Hopefully we will continue to grow and improve next season.
It was fun for me to see some friends and players I haven't seen since last March. It was a great weekend of rugby and socializing, although it was exhausting.
Small Spaces
Traveling back and forth from the gym to the hotel was done via bus. Morey is getting very good at squeezing into tight spaces! At one point we had 20 wheelchair users, 5 able-bodied people, and 2 dogs on a bus much smaller than a short school bus . Some of us transfer to the seats and our chairs went in a trailer pulled by the bus and then we pack in everyone else. Morey sometimes fits under seats, under wheelchairs, on top of suitcases, you name it! The other service dog ended up jumping up on one of the other player's lap- and she was a golden retriever!
In these times, cues such as "back, under, front, and down" are very useful to direct Morey to where he needs to go. Often it's a case of him figuring out where he needs to be. One morning when we had a bit more room, he jumped up on the seat next to one of my teammates who likes to rough house with him. Morey sat beside him/on top of his lap the whole ride. When he got off, my teammate's black shorts were absolutely covered with yellow Morey fur. Oops! : )
Another interesting adventure we had at Nationals was the tornado warnings. During one of our games we had to all go into their tornado shelters. There were more than 200 people (about 150 in wheelchairs) all trying to squeeze into safe places at the same time. One of our support staff got Morey from his pup tent, but took him into a different shelter than I went to (I went to the girls' bathroom, they went to the boys'.) I knew Morey was safe and that he would mostly likely be providing entertainment to everyone in the bathroom. Sure enough, when we came out, one of the players from St. Louis said "You've got a cool dog, I like how he can do pound it". Morey was eagerly searching for me when we all came out and he was bouncing all over when he saw me.
Hardly a day goes by where I am not aware and appreciative of all the things service dogs are expected to do and handle as part of their job. While you obviously want them to be bonded and attentive to their partner, they also need to be ok with going with strangers and following other people's commands. During their training, they are socialized and prepared for many different environments and situations, but there is no way to get them used to everything they will experience in their working lives. Morey's personality and his training make him a perfect fit for my crazy life and the trip to Nationals definitely demonstrated that to me!
In these times, cues such as "back, under, front, and down" are very useful to direct Morey to where he needs to go. Often it's a case of him figuring out where he needs to be. One morning when we had a bit more room, he jumped up on the seat next to one of my teammates who likes to rough house with him. Morey sat beside him/on top of his lap the whole ride. When he got off, my teammate's black shorts were absolutely covered with yellow Morey fur. Oops! : )
Another interesting adventure we had at Nationals was the tornado warnings. During one of our games we had to all go into their tornado shelters. There were more than 200 people (about 150 in wheelchairs) all trying to squeeze into safe places at the same time. One of our support staff got Morey from his pup tent, but took him into a different shelter than I went to (I went to the girls' bathroom, they went to the boys'.) I knew Morey was safe and that he would mostly likely be providing entertainment to everyone in the bathroom. Sure enough, when we came out, one of the players from St. Louis said "You've got a cool dog, I like how he can do pound it". Morey was eagerly searching for me when we all came out and he was bouncing all over when he saw me.
Hardly a day goes by where I am not aware and appreciative of all the things service dogs are expected to do and handle as part of their job. While you obviously want them to be bonded and attentive to their partner, they also need to be ok with going with strangers and following other people's commands. During their training, they are socialized and prepared for many different environments and situations, but there is no way to get them used to everything they will experience in their working lives. Morey's personality and his training make him a perfect fit for my crazy life and the trip to Nationals definitely demonstrated that to me!
Stampede Dog
During rugby tournaments, there is a lot of down time where Morey isn't officially working. I'm not as strict with the rules about petting him, but I don't want him to disregard his working rules so at rugby events I usually decide to leave his vest off. Instead of his vest, Morey wore his Texas Stampede shirt at Nationals. He looked pretty cute although the other teams were giving me grief about it. He really didn't seem to mind and wore it all day (until he peed on it, oops!).
I brought his "pup tent" and he pretty much knows the routine now. He's allowed to wander around our equipment area while we get ready and between games and then goes into it during our games. If I don't zip the door all the way he will stick his nose or paws out, which looks really pathetic. He could easily get out if he wanted to, but he doesn't. There were several other services dogs there and although he would whine excitedly when they went by, he redirected his attention to me.
People would see me without Morey and ask where he was and when they saw him in his tent they would comment on what a good dog he was. And he is! He's got a great "on/off" switch from working and interacting to just hanging out and waiting. 3 days of rugby was a lot, but he handled it perfectly and made lots of new friends.
I brought his "pup tent" and he pretty much knows the routine now. He's allowed to wander around our equipment area while we get ready and between games and then goes into it during our games. If I don't zip the door all the way he will stick his nose or paws out, which looks really pathetic. He could easily get out if he wanted to, but he doesn't. There were several other services dogs there and although he would whine excitedly when they went by, he redirected his attention to me.
People would see me without Morey and ask where he was and when they saw him in his tent they would comment on what a good dog he was. And he is! He's got a great "on/off" switch from working and interacting to just hanging out and waiting. 3 days of rugby was a lot, but he handled it perfectly and made lots of new friends.
Morey's Trip to Birmingham
Time to catch up on the events of the past week....it's been a busy one!
We left last Thursday to fly to Birmingham Alabama for the USQRA Wheelchair Rugby National Championships. I wasn't worried about flying with Morey since I now considered him a seasoned traveler. However, I did get a surprise when I went through security. Since he was trained in prison he is used to being patted down and usually just calmly stands there. This time, though, when he saw the TSA agent put on rubber gloves he started cowering and hiding behind my chair. I was surprised at this reaction as it was so different than how he had behaved in the past.
As I tried to figure out what might have caused Morey to be so nervous I realized that since the last time we had flown, I had taken him to the vet where someone with rubber gloves had stuck a thermometer up his butt. I think I'd be a little nervous too if I thought someone was going to do that to me! He kept a careful eye on the agent as she patted him down (although his tail was tightly tucked between his legs) and did a big shake off once she was done.
We had a 4 hour layover in Dallas and when we arrived one of the flight attendants offered to take Morey outside so he could "hurry". I always get a little nervous handing him off to someone else, but didn't want to have to go out and then back through security so I let her take him. She brought him back in about 10 minutes and said he was too distracted by all the planes and people to do anything, but I felt better knowing he had gotten the chance to go if he needed to.
Other than that our flights were uneventful. Getting 13 people in wheelchairs on and off a plane is always a time consuming process and one of our players had his rugby chair broken on the flight, but luckily we had spare parts to fix it.
We checked into the hotel, which had a nice grassy area out front to play ball. There was a golden retriever service dog also staying at the hotel and Morey was quite interested in her and the smells she left behind. He was really tired from the trip and we both crashed early since the next day started our competition.
We left last Thursday to fly to Birmingham Alabama for the USQRA Wheelchair Rugby National Championships. I wasn't worried about flying with Morey since I now considered him a seasoned traveler. However, I did get a surprise when I went through security. Since he was trained in prison he is used to being patted down and usually just calmly stands there. This time, though, when he saw the TSA agent put on rubber gloves he started cowering and hiding behind my chair. I was surprised at this reaction as it was so different than how he had behaved in the past.
As I tried to figure out what might have caused Morey to be so nervous I realized that since the last time we had flown, I had taken him to the vet where someone with rubber gloves had stuck a thermometer up his butt. I think I'd be a little nervous too if I thought someone was going to do that to me! He kept a careful eye on the agent as she patted him down (although his tail was tightly tucked between his legs) and did a big shake off once she was done.
We had a 4 hour layover in Dallas and when we arrived one of the flight attendants offered to take Morey outside so he could "hurry". I always get a little nervous handing him off to someone else, but didn't want to have to go out and then back through security so I let her take him. She brought him back in about 10 minutes and said he was too distracted by all the planes and people to do anything, but I felt better knowing he had gotten the chance to go if he needed to.
Other than that our flights were uneventful. Getting 13 people in wheelchairs on and off a plane is always a time consuming process and one of our players had his rugby chair broken on the flight, but luckily we had spare parts to fix it.
We checked into the hotel, which had a nice grassy area out front to play ball. There was a golden retriever service dog also staying at the hotel and Morey was quite interested in her and the smells she left behind. He was really tired from the trip and we both crashed early since the next day started our competition.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
You know your dog is a service dog when...
I wanted to share this funny story that happened a while ago, but I keep forgetting to post.
When Morey was sick a few weeks ago, I was feeding him things he had never had before (yogurt, rice, and most recently pumpkin). The first time I stirred up his rice and yogurt concoction I held out the spoon when I was done so he could lick it off. Morey just looked at me hesitantly and I encouraged him to lick it (saying "It's ok"-not that he really understood that!). Instead of licking the spoon, he touched it with his nose! After I stopped laughing and thought about it, I realized he had probably never licked food off a spoon before and so when faced with a situation where he wasn't sure what to do, he reverted back to his training and "touched" the spoon! What a sweetie!
I will admit that he has now become very good at licking spoons clean : )
When Morey was sick a few weeks ago, I was feeding him things he had never had before (yogurt, rice, and most recently pumpkin). The first time I stirred up his rice and yogurt concoction I held out the spoon when I was done so he could lick it off. Morey just looked at me hesitantly and I encouraged him to lick it (saying "It's ok"-not that he really understood that!). Instead of licking the spoon, he touched it with his nose! After I stopped laughing and thought about it, I realized he had probably never licked food off a spoon before and so when faced with a situation where he wasn't sure what to do, he reverted back to his training and "touched" the spoon! What a sweetie!
I will admit that he has now become very good at licking spoons clean : )
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