calliecritturs
Posted : 5/31/2012 6:45:18 PM
JackieG
I'm sorry if you already said and I missed it but how old is Circle? Perhaps he is feeling his age and what you are seeing is normal for his age. Is it possible that you're projecting some of your feelings about having to give up agility onto him and that is coloring your perceptions of how he feels? Just a thought. When I stopped retriever training, I missed getting together with those dog friends at events and though it was the right decision for me, it did affect me.
Jackie I'm glad you said that ...
Honestly there is a pet therapy situation for almost any dog who likes people. And it's all in how YOU do it. I have a friend who does pet therapy and she almost has her dog do more "tricks" than person to person stuff.
But -- I'd encourage you to TRY it. Simply because an interesting thing happens. When faced with this WHOLE ROOM FULL of elderly folks some dogs tend to just plain "get it".
MUCH of it is how you handle it -- teaching a "gentle" command is good. And insisting they MUST sit and STAY in a "sit" to get petted helps.
How they are with elderly people and how they are with kids can be two different things. And this IS trainable.
It's something you have to investigate. and you *manage* it -- you don't just take the dog in, sit down and start talking to someone and ignore your dog. You **MANAGE** this. You know your dog -- you can *see* if they are about to break and do something they ought not.
I deliberately use some funny commands -- like "four on the floor" means NO JUMPING. And mine know they are only allowed to give kisses when ASKED for them.
Tink can act like she's shot out of a cannon most of the time -- she's four and acts like 4 months sometimes. BUT -- in pet therapy? Particularly when she is approached by a child who is very ill? SPLAT - she will flatten herself on the concrete on her belly!!!
That's her own little "work around" because we were continually reminding her to "sit" 75,000 time in an hour -- no matter how excited you get you MUST sit to be petted.
After about the third family the FIRST day she was at Give Kids the World -- suddenly she HURLED herself flat on the concrete. It makes sense. When she's in a "sit" those powerful little puggie back lets want to LAUNCH her into space to jump. And if you are on your belly -- you won't "jump" so easily.
That was HER -- she taught herself that 'command' all on her own!!! Cos she "gets it" that these kids may be rambunctious and want to play BUT OFTEN they are very very very sick. She can smell that. She can smell the drugs, too.
I have seen the very sick ones sit down next to her and she will just splat herself on the ground and suddenly she's this quiet, completely under control -- you'd think she was the most "calm" dog ever. But she judges a lot herself -- THIS child is delicate -- she/he needs ME to just sit here.
Both Luna and Tink -- we keep heavy control on them (these kids can be fragile and I don't want anyone getting hurt) but it never ceases to amaze us how often that "thing" just clicks between a child and one of the dogs.
It happens with the elderly too -- I've done tons of work with Alzheimer's patients -- and one day this woman reached down to pet my dog, and she started to go on and on about what a sweet boy he was, and he reminded her of a dog she'd had as a child.
I looked up and the Dir. of Nurses was standing there dumbstruck. He pulled me aside and said "I've been here longer than she has -- and in the THREE YEARS I've known Jean, she has never uttered even ONE word. And there she was talking over old times with your dog. THAT is what pet therapy is about Ms. Kennedy!!"