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Frequently Asked Questions
1. A Comment from Cynthia
This is a place that we will be posting training questions from any client. These questions will be posted in hopes of helping everyone with specific training problems. There is no charge for having a question posted here & we change all names to maintain everyone's privacy. If you have a training question, please send us a message at starlightanimals@bellsouth.net
2. Certification Only is offered through StarLight Assistance Animal Academy & Training Center after your animal passes our certification exam. The exam takes three days to complete.
Every animal is tested in several public access sites.
They may include any or all of the following:
hospitals
restaurants
grocery stores
department stores
banks
public transportation
other sites as determined by the evaluator at the time of the testing.
Every certified animal receives an identification card that is attached to the harness used. Some animals cannot wear a service harness and the card is then placed in a leather tag pouch and carried by the human partner.
Every card has the animal's photo, human's photo, type of service provided by the animal -- hearing, seizure, etc. -- and information from the Department of Justice about the ADA law.
3. My dog, Beauty, and I were transplanted from New Orleans to Monroe before Katrina hit. Beauty is my service dog. She's become overprotective and bars her teeth when any stranger approaches me. Since she’s my service dog, I meet strangers on a daily basis. My parents think I should have her put down or put her in a 100% enclosed pen and leave her at home forever. Is it normal for animals to get upset with a move? How can I remove her fears?
Carrie:
It is very common for animals to go through post-traumatic stress disorder after something as bad as Katrina. Dogs are creatures of habit. They, for the most part, do not like change in their lives. Just like ourselves they prefer to have everything remain on the same level as the day before.
It is important to think of how your animal sees this major change in their life. Everything is new and strange. Neighborhood friends are gone – cats, dogs, goats, cows, pigs, whatever your dog is used to having around her. All are gone. Their home is gone. Even their vet is gone. Everything that says the dog is safe is gone. Unfortunately even some of their owners are gone. Your dog has only one bright spot in her life–YOU. I would not suggest that you also abandon her by locking her in a pen all day. However, you must get her reactions back under control.
Having already evaluated Beauty, here are my suggestions.
1) get and use a Halti head collar when you go into public. This is the most humane way to stop this reaction that she is having.
2) When Beauty reacts with the barring teeth routine you must correct this by GENTLY tightening the head collar. Do NOT jerk it or pull it so tight that it hurts Beauty’s mouth. Use it gently.
3) After every correction, you MUST reward correct behavior. This is to be done with the towel your training center used to train Beauty originally with. Follow through with the same reward as Beauty is used to having to tell her “Job Well Done”.
4) Even if your schedule has changed, get your life on a schedule. Since you are in the same time zone, it is easy for you to maintain most of your schedule.
a) Feed Beauty at the same time as you did in N. O. This is one of the most important times in a dog’s day.
b) walk the dog at the same times every day.
c) groom her the same day & if possible at the same time.
d) put her bed in the same place as it was in N. O. – in the bedroom next to your bed, in the kitchen/dining/living room. Wherever you had a special place for Beauty in N. O., have it in your home in Monroe.
e) maintain your training reinforcement sessions. Have people come to your home and ring the doorbell/knock. Setup the “funny people” – have the people come with the big floppy hats, umbrellas whatever you can think of to show Beauty she is safe with you in all circumstances.
I do not recommend you take Beauty in public until you have her attitude back under control. It will take work on your part and trust on hers. I have no problem with her trusting you. You are her only remaining rock. She is doing her best to protect you as you are the only thing she has not lost. You have relied on her strength for 3 years, now she needs to be able to rely on your strength. She needs you to support her.
When you must be away from the home, it is best that Beauty be placed in a play yard that is completely enclosed. I suggest the fence be 6 foot tall and have a concrete walk around the inside of the yard to help maintain her nails. Keep a grassy area for her to eliminate in and another area for her to relax in. Enclose the top of the play yard with a shade cover.
As I suggested, do not feed her in the play yard. However, you must have plenty of fresh water – at least a five gallon bucket – and a raised dog house for protection from the elements.
NOTE TO OTHER READERS:
We are working with Carrie and Beauty. She has been making progress and is now taking short trips back into public with her head halter being proudly displayed. (Names of both human & dog have been changed for privacy.)
18 April 2007 Update:
Beauty & Carrie have decided to never return to New Orleans. Carrie has purchased a home in the Monroe area and Beauty has finally learned that Carrie will not allow anything to happen to her if at all possible. Beauty is no longer showing agression to strangers. She has settled into their new routine and again doing the job she so loves.
4. Do you have a list of poisonous plants? I'm looking at a new home to purchase but I am not certain about the landscaping plants I want to put in the garden. I want my dogs and cat as safe as I can make their life.
This list may not provide the names of all the poisonous plants on earth. Please use this as only a general guideline. For complete list of poisonous plants, please contact your vet or 4-H office.
Aloe Vera
Amaryllis
Apple Leaf Croton
Apple (seeds)
Apricot (pit)
Asparagus Fern
Autumn Crocus
Azalea
Baby's Breath
Bird of Paradise
Branching Ivy
Buckeye
Buddhist Pine
Caladium
Calla Lily
Castor Bean
Ceriman
Charming Dieffenbachia
Cherry (seeds and wilting leaves)
Chinese Evergreen
Cineraria
Clematis Corn Plant
Cordatum
Cornstalk Plant
Croton
Cuban Laurel
Cutleaf Philodendron
Cycads
Cyclamen
Daffodil
Devil's Ivy
Dieffenbachia
Dracaena Palm
Dragon Tree
Dumb Cane
Easter Lily (especially cats!)
Elaine Emerald Feather
Elephant Ears
English Ivy
Eucalyptus
Fiddle-leaf Fig
Florida Beauty
Foxglove
Fruit Salad Plant
Geranium
German Ivy
Giant Dumb Cane
Glacier Ivy
Gold Dust Dracaena
Golden Pothos
Hahn's Self-Branching Ivy
Heartland Philodendron
Hurricane Plant
Indian Rubber Plant
Janet Craig Dracaena
Japanese Show Lily (especially cats!)
Jerusalem Cherry
Kalanchoe
Lacy Tree Philodendron
Lily of the Valley
Madagascar Dragon Tree
Marble Queen
Marijuana
Mexican Breadfruit
Miniature Croton
Mistletoe
Morning Glory
Mother-in-Law's Tongue
Narcissus
Needlepoint Ivy
Nephytis
Nightshade
Oleander
Onion
Oriental Lily (especially cats!)
Peace Lily
Peach (wilting leaves and pits)
Pencil Cactus
Plumosa Fern
Poinsettia (low toxicity)
Poison Ivy
Poison Oak
Pothos
Precatory Bean
Primrose
Red Princess
Red Emerald
Red-Margined Dracaena
Rhododendron
Ribbon Plant
Saddle Leaf Philodendron
Sago Palm
Satin Pothos
Schefflera
Silver Pothos
Spotted Dumb Cane
String of Pearls
Striped Dracaena
Sweetheart Ivy
Swiss Cheese Plant
Taro Vine
Tiger Lily (especially cats!)
Tomato Plant (green fruit, stem and leaves)
Tree Philodendron
Tropic Snow Dieffenbachia
Weeping Fig
Yew
5. Help!!!!! I have a dog that can destroy EVERY toy I get for him in a matter of days. The Kong took 3 days to be shredded. Most take just a few minutes.
Mike:
Sounds like my "Old Yeller Girl". She is a Black-mouth Cur. Not a very well known dog but the breed that was used in the movie "Old Yeller". Duchess can also destroy the super Kong. I still recommend the Kong as I have several other dogs that CANNOT destroy them.
The problem is BOREDOM. Any dog that is totally bored will find a way to remove their boredom. Most the time it is manifested as 1) separation anxiety or 2) destructive behavior. There are several ways these behaviors manifest themselves and your vet is the best one to give you all the options from the vet point of view. However, I do not believe in medicating a dog when training will achieve the same results. Training takes time. Now that I have been able to evaluate Jake, I know you will take the time needed to get his focus off the behavior and on to you where it belongs.
The first step is obedience training. Jake needs to know what his limits are. Since you adopted him from your local pound there is no way of knowing how he was raised or if he was a stray all his life. The volunteers and staff of your local pound have done a fantastic job of training Jake but now he needs to know YOU are top dog in your home and you must begin this right away.
Here are my suggestions:
1) Get rid of the electric fence and get a play yard (minimum of 12' x 24').
2) Do not feed him in the play yard but have a fresh supply of clean water there for him.
3) The play yard is for playing ONLY. Get a big ball and roll it on the ground – basket balls work well. If he starts to chew it, it won’t hurt if it goes flat as long as you are there with him to supervise his play with the ball.
4) NEVER hit him no matter what. This is something that has been done too much with Jake. Get the click training down pat as this is the way that will work best for Jake.
5) When in the play yard, you must also be in the play yard. It is after all a PLAY yard and you need to teach Jake this is the place for sheer nonsense. He can play and enjoy the time you two are together. Buy yourselves some flying discs, hard rubber balls – Kong makes some. I don’t like tennis balls because they’re hard to keep clean for the dog.
6) Play with Jake about one-half hour, in one stretch. Keep him playing with short rests. The idea is to tire him out. Once he is “plum tuckered out” take him into the house and put him in his spot. Tell him to down and stay. Then leave the room. Just a few seconds at first. Increase the time gradually over several weeks. It took my lab about 7 months to be able to understand that even if I did go out of the room, I would come back to sit beside her. She has relaxed so much that she now snores when she sleeps. Now I can be out of her room several hours while I cook, clean, etc.
7) Once Jake knows you will not abandon him, you will be able to work on a new behavior. I think you will find that you Jake will settle into your routine faster than you think if you do these steps every day. When you have to be away, have a dog sitter (a member of your family only) that will be happy to sit with Jake. Since you have children, this will be easy. The kids can take turns. Make them a chart so they know who’s turn it is. This will give each child a way to earn extra money in their allowance. Since they already live there. A good price is $1.00 per day. All the kids have to do is make sure to play with Jake and take him outside three times while you’re at work.
Getting Jake during the summer break was the best time for the family to bond with each other. Don’t leave Jake at a kennel during your vacation. Take him with you. This will help him know he is home forever.
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