Urgent Fundraiser...

Please if you can help or know of any resources it would be greatly appreciated it. We desperately need this equipment for Logan. He will be coming back home next weekend.

From the Dogs For Autism Facebook page Then there is Logan, who after three weeks of in-kennel training, was nearly perfect in tonight's session. But he needs about $450 worth of equipment to be ready to do his job when he goes home next week. Logan's boy missed him so much that he recently disappeared only to be found curled up in Logan's crate. :-( We want to get Logan home asap.

A New Chapter

Well we've been in a new chapter of training. Logan went to "dog school" back to SC to the Dogs For Autism Center to get some extensive training done. It is extremely hard on us not to have Logan here but they are able to do alot more training in a shorter period of time with having him there.

For us this time away from Logan has really made me realize how much of a vital role he has in our lives. He isn't only a member of our family but is a stress relief for me. Jacob is having a huge time trying to adjust not having his Logan around. The bed time routine has changed because he doesn't have his Logan with him, which means Mommy isn't sleeping aswell because Logan would alert me if the boys would get up. We also were teaching Jacob to walk with Logan when he was getting "over stimulated" to calm him down.

Logan was also a comfort for me. Petting him or brushing him was a stim for me, I could block out the rest and concentrate on one item.

When Logan comes back we will begin a new chapter filled with new adventures and outings, With Logan doors are opening for Jacob, we can plan and go to places that we thought were imposible for us to visit. We can't wait for our Logan to finish his time at "dog school"

Training...

We are officially in advanced training with Logan. We have a trainer that comes up every 2 weeks. We are keeping our paws crossed that Logan will be certified by the end of summer! We hope you guys stay tuned and watch as we grow!

This week we are nailing down the the "Plotz" or "down stay" command. This is a very important command especially since we are planning on harnessing Jacob and Logan together. Its a very interesting training sessions the kids think I've lost it a bit. Jumping up and down, banging on the walls, walking circles around him but he is doing a great job staying put until we release him and give him lots of praise.

We will also starting venturing into public outings which will be a whole new can of worms. Alot of people don't understand what services a service dog can provide for a "normal looking" child. Which will take alot of explaining in the begining but educating people on service dogs and autism is worth taking a few minutes to deal with ignorant people.

Next week we continue on down stays increasing the time and begining to work on the first stages of the harness....

Training...

Well with a few more bumps along the way we are into our advance phase of training. This process is very much worth it but is most deffinately lots of hard work in every way. Our trainer which was wonderful today gave us some great advice. We are teaching Logan the "Go-to command" which is the first step of him being able to help us find Jacob if he goes on his own little adventure. He's having to get back into the training brain since its been a few months for him, but I am sure he will get back into the swing of things quickly...

This was Logan and Jacob this evening after a hard day of training....

Promise more updates and pics soon...