Morey's Mazda Part 2

As you can see, I had the seat directly behind the driver's seat removed so I can pull my wheelchair in to that space without needing to take it apart. That was my goal for my new vehicle and the Mazda5 was the only vehicle that made that possible (other vans are too high off the ground).

Morey has basically the same riding arrangement as he did in my last van. He gets the entire back seat. He jumped right in and settled in nicely for his first ride. However, on our way home I made a beginner's mistake. The set up of the van was practically the same as my old van and I assumed that Morey would figure out that he was going to sit on the back seat that was carefully covered with a sheet. So I opened the door and said "jump". [An important note here is that it actually rained in Austin and so Morey was a bit wet and muddy.]

Instead of jumping on the back seat that was protected by the towel and sheet, he jumped on the brand new tan middle seat. As soon as I saw where his momentum was going I shouted "NO!" (more at my stupidity than at Morey), but it was too late. Morey, muddy paws and all, was sitting on the middle seat looking confused and scared. I gave him the off command and tried to redirect him to the back seat.

I immediately realized my mistake and took full responsibility for that mix-up. Morey wasn't sure where I was wanting him to "jump" so he found the first seat available (unfortunately the one that was not protected from his muddy paws). I didn't want Morey to associate the new vehicle with a screaming Emily so I "jollied" him up with a happy voice and then got in the Mazda and sat blocking the middle seat. I then had Morey jump in and out of the back seat, getting him used to the fact that the back seat was where he was going to sit. After several repetitions he was eagerly waiting for the jump command and was consistently going straight to the back seat.

So my van is officially broken in with a few muddy paw prints and the seat is now covered with a towel to protect against future incidents. And I had a valuable reminder that I can't just expect Morey to be able to know what I want him to do, I need take time to set him up for success by providing continuing education in new situations instead of expecting him to figure it out on his own. Hopefully I will be reminded of that each time I see the muddy paw prints on the seat!

Morey's Mazda Part 1

I finally finished the last thing on my summer "to do" list: buy a new vehicle. My trusty reliable red van reached 181k + miles and after an expensive repair in April I knew it was time to start the search for something new. Because I travel with a lot of gear (Morey and various wheelchairs) it was important to find something that had plenty of storage space while still having options for transporting people.

After several months of looking and trying, I settled on a Mazda5, which is basically a mini minivan. It seats 6 and has sliding doors on the sides. The back 2 seats fold down to the floor if you want more storage space. I brought my new vehicle home on Friday and so far have been enjoying the feel of a vehicle that is smaller and easier to handle. Zoom zoom! : )

Creepy Crickets

My brave service dog can handle almost anything. He rides planes and buses, sleeps at the side of the rugby court, works amongs crowds, and walks over strange surfaces. But I guess we all have something we are afraid of and for Morey that seems to be crickets.

The weather in Austin this summer has resulted in a plague of crickets. They are everywhere; inside and outside. It's impossible to avoid them and after a while you just get used to seeing them in buildings, sidewalks, and all over the place.

I didn't notice Morey's aversion to crickets until one day at the gym. Morey was laying under the bleachers in his usual spot and I was warming up a few feet away. All of a sudden I noticed him crawling and scooting out from under the bleachers. I looked at him with surprise and he looked back in fear. I went over for a closer look to see what had rattled my usually calm and mellow Morey. All I saw was a cricket, so I told Morey to go back under the bleachers. He got up and slowly went back under, obviously reluctantly and still fearful. I waited and watched him for a moment, still trying to figure out what was wrong. Then the cricket started moving toward him. I have never seen Morey try to flatten himself against the wall like that but he wanted to stay as far away as possible from the cricket.

With this suspicion beginning to form, I released Morey to see what he would do. Immediately he bolted out from the bleachers and came to stand by me. He wagged his tail at me as if to say "thanks for getting me away from that thing!". I had to start my work out, so I positioned Morey away from the cricket and he went back to his usual good self.

Since that time I have noticed that he will purposely walk around crickets on the floor and avoid them any way possible. I'm not sure if it's their sound or their smell, but Morey has made it very clear that he wants to keep his distance from crickets!

Sticky Service Dog

I had a new experience the other day with Morey that took me by surprise. We were going in to work as usual when I looked down and saw Morey limping and biting at something on his paw. I had him stop and sit and then asked him to "shake" so I could look at what was bothering him. He willingly put his paw in my hand and immediately I figured out what was wrong. Morey had stepped in a piece of gooey green melted gum or candy and it had stuck to his paw pad and the surrounding fur. When he gave me his paw I got "gooped" as well.

I tried to pick off as much as I could before we went inside and headed straight to the bathroom to clean the rest up. I managed to get most of it off my hand, but Morey's paw was a different story. I couldn't wipe it off and since I was working at an odd angle it was difficult for me to pick it out of his fur. Finally I managed to get most of it off so at least it wasn't bothering him anymore. Throughout the rest of the day it seemed to wear off, although he did smell like green apple the rest of the day!

I have rolled through candy/gum before and that's a mess trying to get it out of my tire treads, but I have never had to pick it off Morey's paws before. Just another day in the life of a service dog partner...