I can't believe how big Cayman is getting! He is such an awesome little guy too and has just one more puppy education class at Petco before his big graduation. I plan on looking for some material with little graduation caps or something like that to make a little bandanna for him to wear for his graduation pictures getting his diploma. Be sure to check back, especially in about two weeks, for pictures!
So far in class he has learned "sit", "down", "stay", "front" (which is to sit front and center so you can put a leash on him or something like that), "leave it", "wait", "off", and how to loose leash walk without pulling or walking ahead of you. He's a good learner and is catching onto most of the commands really, really well. And he has proven he is an old pro at loose leash walking when we went on our first real walk, a whole block!
Recently I moved a chair into our bedroom in front of our bed so now Cayman has a perfect advantage to getting up into our bed. Last night he slept in our bed with us for the first time.
Another recent "goodie" is that Cayman has his very own booster seat in the car so he is level with the window and can see outside plus it has a hook where you can attach his harness so it adds a level of protection in the event we were ever to get into an accident. Alicia, our dog trainer and my friend put it aside for me when it went on clearance from $40 to $10 at Petco.
The research for making Cayman a therapy dog continues. It looks as though we will have to wait sometime and just keep working at the requirements, which are that of the Canine Good Citizen certification, or CGC, since we can not test time till he is a year old anyhow. So we have until April 19th, 2009 to master the CGC requirements.
Therapy dogs spread happiness, love, and cheer to people who otherwise might be lonely, sad or slow to heal. This is the journey of Cayman, a longhair miniature dachshund and his journey and experiences visiting becoming a therapy dog.
Did you know that pet visits often spark good memories of a person's own pets? Dogs often can reach people and children who have withdrawn from the world. It's been suggested by science that petting a dog can lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and stress, and promote healing.
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2 comments:
I did not realize you were thinking of having Cayman be a therapy dog. Cool! There are people who bring their dogs to our facility and others too. One lady brings a daschund. She uses a simple stroller for the dog to hop on. It brings him/her closer to the level of the patients sitting in their wheelchairs or in bed to reach better for petting. Most of the patients really brighten up when they see the dogs. One lady has a daschund hound combo. Big long dog.
How wonderful to want Cayman as a therapy dog. He is so cute and will bring many smiles to peoples faces. Good luck Cayman.
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