Day 9: Tim Horton's = Success!

Update from last night: Troy was uncrated and slept on his bed from 6:00PM-7:30AM! He may have woken up in the night but he definitely didn't get off of his bed because I would've heard him. I took him out for a pee at 10:00 but other than that 10 minutes of being awake, he slept on his bed for about 13 hours... I really mean it when I say that all he does is sleep!

Today was a very exciting day for Troy, and the rest of us but I'll get to that in a minute...

The morning was fairly relaxed. We practiced some more calls for help and he did SO much better than the other days. I was worried that he wouldn't be able to do it for long enough to find help but man was I wrong. My boy has a STRONG bark when he tries! I was so proud. He sustained about 15 good loud barks before the trainers came to "rescue me" in our room. Afterwards he got a chewy and enjoyed that for all of 60 seconds until it was demolished.

I also practiced in my manual wheelchair for the first time with him today. He did fairly well but we need to figure out a better solution for the leash. With the break-away leg band, the leash tends to get stuck in my wheels. I'm thinking of putting it on the chair itself and shortening the leash a little more. We will just have to test some different options in our free time tomorrow and in the coming days. I don't use my manual chair very often at all but there are times when I have to so I need a safe and convenient way to attach him to me.

In the morning we did more down stays and distractions with treats and toys. As usual, he did great and stayed down for the majority of the time. He didn't eat any of the treats and during the down stays he was awesome.

Afterwards we had a bit of fun and played "hide and seek" with one of the trainers. This is when the trainer closes her eyes and calls out numbers. We then (if that's our number) tell our dog to "help" (bark). The trainer has to come find us based on where the bark is coming from. Troy got a little nervous when he heard the other dogs barking and started to bark when it wasn't his turn. This was very entertaining as it made it hard for the trainer to figure out where to go with two dogs barking at the same time! When it was his turn, he did an amazing job though. :)

In the afternoon we went on our first outing as a group! We took our dogs to Tim Horton's with their harnesses on. Troy did great and I was so happy that he didn't pull too much on the leash today. I think the harness makes a pretty big difference in his walking behavior which is good. I'm not so nervous for days at school and work now. He was still scared of the sidewalk grates but did much better. The first one he went behind me and moved out of the way. However, the second and third ones we went over I made it so that he didn't really have anywhere else to go. I cheered him on as he was walking over it and then treated him afterwards. Hopefully after a few more times of doing this on our walks, he will realize that there is nothing to be afraid of... fingers crossed!

While at Tim Horton's, everyone stared at us. A few people commented on how beautiful he was and asked what his name is. Nobody asked to pet him which was great. One lady did try to talk to him but he did amazing and ignored her when she said "Oh Troy, You're such a good boy". He really IS such a good boy. I couldn't believe how well behaved he was.

When we got back from our little trip we talked a bit about how to introduce our dog to other dogs (pets). This will be very helpful for when I stay over at my boyfriend's house. He has a small dog who may get jealous of Troy since he's pretty fond of me and won't want to share me with Troy. Hopefully when they meet it goes well or else Christmas is going to be pretty difficult this year!

Other than our outing, we had a fairly relaxing day. Troy played with a tennis ball and squeaky toy for a few minutes tonight after dinner which was great. After play time I filled up his Kong with some peanut butter and once he licked it all out, he fell right asleep (as usual).

Tomorrow morning we are taking our pictures for our ID's as well as class photos! I'm super excited for that. When he wakes up (more like when I wake him up...) I'm going to brush him so that he looks extra handsome for picture day.

Goodnight everyone. Thank you for taking part in our adventures together. <3

Troy in his harness :)

Snuggling in his Kong bed. So glad I bought him... us... a huge and comfy bed ;)



Peanut butter filled Kong, on his Kong bed... and no, this isn't sponsored in any way haha. Not yet at least ;)