Hannah, Fireflies, Puppy Jake Foundation

First off, I don't mean to go on and on about my dogs or my mules, but they are my immediate 'family' at this time.

My sons are hours away with busy lives and their families. My older grands are busy with working and figuring out their lives too. Most of them that have jobs and vehicles live 2 to 3 hours away. I have heard twice from the stepdaughter since her dad passed away 9 months ago.

I do have my friends, so don't get me wrong at all. I do have a life with humans involved.

Now I better understand people who wrap their lives around their pets. Pets are constant companions who don't have distractions. Their lives depend on you. They are toddlers that need constant affirmation of love and care. Who doesn't love that?

So, I will write about them and talk about them. They are the main focus of things happening in my life at the moment.

Years ago, I had Morris, a Jack Russell Terrier. He was not a typical terrier. He was not fearless and brave, but he was kind and sweet. But he was sure that Fireflies were insane little monsters that were going to eat him.

In 2007 Morris made me aware of the evil fireflies that surrounded our house and fields on summer nights. He knew he had to protect me from the conniving little flashing bugs. We laughed and laughed that such a mild mannered dog was so upset over flying insects. 
Night of the Fireflies is the original post. 

Each year after that, Morris would go out and watch for them with his hair on end and a soft constant growl. He'd even jump on the bed to look out the window and protect us.

Fast forward 19 years [has it been so long???]

Last night Hannah stood on the porch and when Fireflies lit up the yard and garden in front of her. She backed up and growled. Her hair was on end. I thought 'No way!' Charlie never even gives the little flashes of light a second glance.

But there it was. Hannah and the Killer Fireflies. I tried to tell her that they wouldn't harm her. No use. She has her mind set on the fact they are a threat.

Hannah will be 6 months old on the 24th and she'll visit the Vet for being neutered on the 25th. She still nags Charlie but not as bad as she did at first. She is maturing and learning to walk on a leash without distractions and sit when I stand still. Baby steps. 

During this last hot and humid week, I spent some time indoors bored. So I flipped on YouTube to browse things to watch. I ended up on a documentary about the Puppy Jake Foundation in Iowa that trains service dogs for Veterans.

What transpired next was fascinating.

She watched the whole documentary. When a commercial came on, she walked away and looked out the door, when the narrator came back on, she walked back to that spot and watched intently.

I thought it was a fluke or maybe she was interested in seeing the dogs in the program so I put on a dog training video featuring a dog and a person explaining how to use a leash.

Imagine my surprise when she growled and backed away from the TV as if it offended her. She barked and looked at me then at the TV. I doubt she made the connection that I was in charge of the programing, but I changed back to the same documentary we'd been watching.

She was enthralled once more.

I changed the video again to another dog video of sorts. She had the same reaction. 

She is the first dog I've had in all of my years on this earth that has 'watched' TV. Did she like the narrator's voice? Did she like what she was hearing and seeing?

I showed the video to some friends and their reply was 'She wants to be Trained to be a Service Dog!'

Hah.

She is my Emotional Support Dog, right? 

Years ago, I went through a dog obedience class with my first dog Missy. The class was 8 weeks long and by the end of the class Missy would walk off leash and ignore other dogs and distractions. She was insanely good at obedience. The instructor only docked her because she wouldn't take cues from him, but he did suggest that we go to the next level for a working dog and eventually train for Search and Rescue.

It was a path I wished to explore but couldn't as I had two young kids at home. 

Hannah is a quick learner. When she has her 'working line' on she is all business.

Here, she is learning the basics of 'heel' and sit when I stop. It has only taken her two sessions to figure this part out. 

She is 80% consistent with no distractions at this point.

Of course, she already understood sit. However she didn't get the concept of walking at my side with a loose line and sitting when I stopped walking until we started.

At the end of each session [no longer than 15 minutes] I give her a release word and unclip her. She immediately checks with me and then goes into Zoomies.

I wonder what I can accomplish with Hannah.

Charlie? 
He has always been an extremely smart dog. The one thing I had to teach him was to 'come' when called, his manners and leash walking have always been good without any extra work. His duty since puppyhood had been to be with Rich and other elders as a lap dog and petting dog. 

He's decided that it looks like Hannah is going to stick around.

He even allows this:

I've had dogs since I was a kid. It all started with Albert the female mutt we got from my uncle's farm. Some day I'll reminisce about her.