Dove is going to school!

Hi everyone!
I know it has been a while since I have checked in.  It has been about 6 weeks since we have been home from our initial training at 4 Paws For Ability with Dove.  She has become a very important part of our family. We continue to practice basic commands with her each day and she is doing well.  At first Dove and Daniel were not seeming to bond very well. The last two weeks however that seems to have changed! Daniel plays with her a lot and she looks to him to play ball and chase and loves to lick him in the morning. Daniel is not so crazy about the licking first thing in the morning, but who would be?  We work with Daniel and have lots of time to pet and love on Dove together with him so she will  connect more to him each day.

She has alerted to Daniel's seizures on a few occasions, but is a sound sleeper at night.So far she has alerted to his seizure anywhere from 10-30 minutes prior.  Most of Daniel's seizures are at night so this will be the hardest part to do it every time! We are trying to condition her to keep her "nose" on alert when she is sleeping! Hopefully this will help. Even so, when Daniel has a big seizure she has begun to be right there beside him on the bed. She recognizes the sounds that he makes and she acts so concerned for him. The last couple of tonic/clonic seizures she has licked his feet, hands, ears and right smack on the mouth! She does this very vigorously and enthusiastically.  This is great because it means the bond is forming between them and she is really caring for him!  It sort of grosses me out with the mouth licking, but I know it is a good thing in the end. She stays with him till it's over and lays beside him. It really is very sweet.

We have started training Dove to bark on command so we can incorporate that into the seizure alert and/or response. She has a really deep, loud bark and I think I would hear that better than just the whimpering and whining she usually does. She does not like to bark. It has taken several days to get her to do this on command, but I think she is getting the idea. The trainer at 4 Paws has given us several things to work on to help with her alerting at night and her barking.

So now this Friday Dove will ride to school with Daniel on the bus and stay for at least half a day. I will be taking her home early to give her a few days to get used to the new routines. I anticipate to go to school with them for about two weeks, or whenever the aides and teacher are comfortable with her there without me.   She is so good, that her trial run on the bus Monday went very well. Everyone was so impressed with her behavior!  Thank you to 4 Paws For Ability for training such a wonderful dog for Daniel!  I will let you know how it goes after we have been to school  a few days.  I don't anticipate any problems, just working out the kinks of the day to day stuff.

Daniel is so glad to have his own dog. He really likes her new trick to bark! Thanks again to all who helped us get to this point!
We just found out last week that Make A Wish is granting Daniel a wish to see snow! He is so excited. It will probably be a while before we know any details about the trip, but I know it will be one to remember forever. Daniel and Alena have never seen real snow. Hard to believe with us living down here in sunny Florida!  It should be quite an adventure for all of us, and especially Dove!

Well, we will be gearing up for school on Friday the 12th, and then getting ready for Thanksgiving. Hard to believe that Christmas is almost here.  We will have the best Christmas! Dove is the best present we could have ever gotten.
Take care,
Kim