I have been unable (and possibly, unwilling) to train Bambi since March. It is time to get started again. The advantage is that Bambi and I have gotten to know each other better. I can read her expressions and body language better than I could before when she was younger. She can read me better as well. The glitch is, she has become the family pet. She chases the cat, barks at the front door, and shoves toys in everyone’s face when she wants to play.
We started at the park, with a review. She has never lost “sit”, “down”, “stay”. The rest of the commands, she needed a good review. She needs to get the basic commands down again, so that she never fails. Then, we will start on teaching her to retrieve medication, and help (my husband). I took her to Wal-Mart and put her in the basket. This was her first trip, with her service vest on, and she was very nervous. We got a ton of “awwwww”‘s, but also a ton of looks, suggesting disapproval at having a service dog in a grocery store. She probably gets more of those than a larger dog, because many people still believe a Pomeranian is just a pet that I am putting a vest on so she can hang around with me. Pop culture television does not help, since they show service dogs as “emotional companions” and poke fun at it. Although funny for the show, not helpful for the rest of us.
It has taken a lot of strength (thank the Lord) to get back to work. Since March, I have had major surgery to stop the anemia, had my elderly father move in (he has leukemia and a hole in his heart, but still gets around a good bit), continues homeschooling an autistic son (while working with the school to write an extensive IEP so he can return to school, his choice), and run a daughter around that is in a competitive color guard that made it to State (Go Lancers!!). I wrote that all in one sentence to emphasize how incredibly crazy it has been for someone with a panic disorder. Thank God I do not have a job outside the house. Training a dog would have been just icing on a crazy cake. Although, I could have used her help, had she been trained….irony.
Today…back to Wal-Mart to get a fish bowl for my son who won a fish at a school function last night. Bambi needs to get desensitized to the crowds and riding in the cart. She will also get more “touch” practice, as the beginning of retrieving medication bottles.