Musketeer Puppy's 5th Weekly Report Card

This week Musketeer has continued to practice the commands of leave it, down, heel, load up and wait. He has been learning the "drop it" command. He has been practicing this command using balls, plush toys and large bones. He has been learning to combine the commands of leave it, drop it, and take it. He has been learning to "stay" in both a sit and a down position, to come when called which is also known as recall, and to heel while off leash. He will be walking next to shopping carts and staying with distractions in a busy store. Musketeer has been training this week at a local city park, Costco, Petco, Tractor Supply Company, a local fire station and Lowe's. Next week Musketeer will continue to practice combining commands including performing puppy push ups*. He will be getting used to hearing traffic sounds by walking along a street with some car traffic and heeling off leash around things in the store.

* "Puppy Push Ups" are when you have the dog go from a sit position to a down position, back to a sit position, to a down position, to a sit, to a down, to a sit, etc.

We are hoping to Skype with Musketeer and his trainer next week Saturday. Do YOU have questions you'd like to know from his current trainer? If so, please leave them in the comments below!

Thank you for wanting to know

more about

my Musketeer!

I got my first "Are you blind?"!!!

In all of the research about service dogs that I've been doing over the past year or so, I've heard of a lot of service dog handlers getting asked, "Are you blind?" simply because most people think the only reason folks have service dogs are for guide dog work.  Even though service dogs have been used to assist the deaf, PTSD, seizure alert, diabetic alert, etc., etc., etc. for decades, service dogs just aren't a common thing and folks just don't know about the tons of other reasons to have a service dog.

Today I was talking to someone about the fact that I'm getting a service dog.  He seemed puzzled, looked into my eyes and asked, "Are you blind?"!

MY FIRST "ARE YOU BLIND?"!

I waited until I was out of hearing distance to crack up laughing!!!  I'm certain I won't find this so amusing my 70th time being asked, but today, it was FABULOUS!!!

Here is a sample of what I mean:  CLICK HERE

HERE IS YOUR CHALLENGE:
EVERY amount donated brings us closer!  We know funds are tight for many people, so we're offering the

THREE MUSKETEER CHALLENGE!

Challenging you to donate $3.00

(or the amount you wish to donate)

Then for you to challenge only three others

to do the same!

MANY WAYS TO DO THE CHALLENGE:

1.)  DIRECTLY TO D.A.D.A.

1. Go to the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America website HERE.
2. CLICK on "PAYMENTS" at the bottom of the page, 2nd from the right in the blue section.
3. CLICK on "BUY NOW".
4. TYPE IN MUSKETEER PUPPY in the "DESCRIPTION".  WITHOUT TYPING IN "MUSKETEER PUPPY", DONATIONS WILL GET LOST!
5. TYPE IN $3.00 (or amount you wish to donate) in the "PRICE PER ITEM".
6. CLICK "CONTINUE".
7. CLICK "LOG IN" for Pay Pal or CLICK "PAY WITH DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD".
8. Continue onto the secure payment page.

2.)  Real Life Wells Fargo Bank

Donate to Musketeer the Diabetic Alert Dog at any Wells Fargo Bank.

3.)  Second Life

Donate at any Musketeer Donation spot (Marie's store).  750 L approx. equals $3.00 USD

If you have questions...

If you want to find out more, you are welcome to call D.A.D.A. (Diabetic Alert Dogs of America) by using the phone number on their website.

~OR~

Ask XMarieX Fairport in SL!

Thank you

for your

prayers,

encouragement,

emotional support,

telling others,

financial assistance,

and for being

so

AMAZING!!!

YOU are appreciated!

Musketeer's Report Card for May 18, 2017

This week Musketeer has continued to practice walking loosely on a leash, the commands of sit, watch me, take it, come and let's go. He has been learning the "leave it" command in which the dog learns that the item the handler has said to "leave it" can not be touched, tasted or smelled. Musketeer has begun learning the "down" command this week, how to appropriately "say hello" to people and other dogs when the handler has given him permission to do so, appropriate behavior while being pet by a stranger, the "heel" command, heeling next to a shopping cart and the "load up" and "wait" commands in a vehicle. His training locations this week have included the trainer's house, local neighborhood, the park, Ross and Petsmart. Next week Musketeer will be combining commands in order to build reliability and differentiate between commands. He will do this by performing drills that will have him leave items told to "leave it," eat treats told to "take it," while loose leash walking and auto sitting sporadically throughout the drill. Next week, Musketeer will be introduced to the commands of "drop it" and "stay" in a sit and down position, and how to heel off leash.

Musketeer Received The Gift I Sent!

I had embroidered Musketeer's name and an Old English "M" with a Fleur de Lis onto a bandanna as a gift to Musketeer Puppy.  I sent it to Diabetic Alert Dogs of America and they sent it on to the folks who are currently training Musketeer.  They were kind enough to take some lovely photos of Musketeer with his new bandanna:

I'm thinking I should get some plain royal blue bandannas and embroider on them with silver thread, to help make them stand out more.  

What do you think?  Is he a handsome puppy?

YOU CAN HELP

GET MUSKETEER HOME!

Fund Raising!
EVERY amount donated brings us closer!  We know funds are tight for many people, so we're offering the

THREE MUSKETEER CHALLENGE!

Challenging you to donate $3.00

(or the amount you wish to donate)

Then for you to challenge only three others

to do the same!

MANY WAYS TO DO THE CHALLENGE:

1.)  DIRECTLY TO D.A.D.A.

1. Go to the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America website HERE.
2. CLICK on "PAYMENTS" at the bottom of the page, 2nd from the right in the blue section.
3. CLICK on "BUY NOW".
4. TYPE IN MUSKETEER PUPPY in the "DESCRIPTION".  WITHOUT TYPING IN "MUSKETEER PUPPY", DONATIONS WILL GET LOST!
5. TYPE IN $3.00 (or amount you wish to donate) in the "PRICE PER ITEM".
6. CLICK "CONTINUE".
7. CLICK "LOG IN" for Pay Pal or CLICK "PAY WITH DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD".
8. Continue onto the secure payment page.

2.)  Real Life Wells Fargo Bank

Donate to Musketeer the Diabetic Alert Dog at any Wells Fargo Bank.

3.)  Second Life

Donate at any Musketeer Donation spot (Marie's store).  750 L approx. equals $3.00 USD

If you have questions...

If you want to find out more, you are welcome to call D.A.D.A. (Diabetic Alert Dogs of America) by using the phone number on their website.

~OR~

Ask XMarieX Fairport in SL!

Thank you

for your

prayers,

encouragement,

emotional support,

telling others,

financial assistance,

and for being

so

AMAZING!!!

YOU are appreciated!

~Musketeer's 3rd Report Card~

(Actual "Report Card" for this week.)

This week Musketeer has continued to get used to being handled (important for grooming, vet visits, random petting by strangers), walking loosely on a leash, and has continued to practice the commands of "sit" and "watch me." He has begun to learn the "take it" command, how to auto sit when the handler stops, the phrase "Let's go" which tells him that we are about to begin walking, how to get on a dog bed upon command, and how to enter his kennel upon command. He has also been getting used to walking next to an electric wheel chair. Musketeer has been practicing sitting and waiting politely before being allowed to eat his food. This is practicing the very hard skill of patience. His training locations this week have been the trainer's house, Walmart, Petco, Target, Tractor Supply Company, a local neighborhood and the park. 

During his training program you will see the same commands continued to be practiced in various locations. This is important because dogs do not generalize like humans do and therefore must be taught to generalize. Once they have generalized a large quantity of behaviors in many different scenarios and locations, they will begin to do it on their own, especially if the behaviors are similar. Not only will they continue to reinforce the commands they are learning, but they will be learning a skill that will allow them to take what they have learned and be comfortable and confident in doing it wherever they go. Next week, Musketeer will be introduced to the "leave it" command, begin to socialize with new people, will learn how to appropriately "say hello" to people and other dogs, the appropriate behavior while being pet and will be introduced to the down command.

I am thrilled that Diabetic Alert Dogs of America take the time to not only tell me what Musketeer is learning, but also letting me know the why, where, and how of it all. As Musketeer is learning all of these different commands, I'm trying to learn them, where I'd need them and what will be the result when giving these commands. Being consistent is extremely important and I'm THRILLED to be kept up to date with everything!

THANK YOU

for

checking in on

Musketeer Puppy!

Slight Oooops...
D.A.D.A. (Diabetic Alert Dogs of America) made a slight oops with Musketeer's age.  They had gotten in five dogs all at about the same time and had originally told me Musketeer was seven months old.  That is the age of another dog.  Musketeer is 14 months old, so has a lot more maturity to him, thus is doing a lot better.  His birth date is February 26, 2016.  

At first I was feeling like I was going to miss out on seven months of his life, but I was assured that Musketeer is so perfect for me, he and I are going to make the perfect team for years to come.  

(I just wanted to get that info in here because this was a step of the journey that we're taking.)

Musketeer continues to Learn!

Musketeer Puppy is learning more basic commands at this point of his training to become my service dog.  He's very loving and eager to learn.  He focuses well on his trainer.

Musketeer is currently working on "Auto Sit", where he goes to a sit position every time the handler stops moving.  When he is in the process of learning something, he's given a lot of treats.  Treats are gradually reduced and replaced with praise, then it becomes habit.  A treat can be offered as a reminder of "We really appreciate this action, just letting you know!".  

More photos & videos have been added!
You can see more photos and videos of Musketeer Puppy HERE.  Newer photos and videos are added to the bottom of the page.  There will be a week to ten day absence of photos and videos after his neutering.  I was told most future handlers don't like to see their future dogs wearing a cone and being "out of action".  Musketeer will need to rest and that's understandable.

We will be doing a VIDEO CHAT with Musketeer in two to three weeks!  It will give us a chance to get more connected with Musketeer.  I'm not sure if it does anything for him, but it will be wonderful for us!

The bandanna I made for Musketeer has been sent to his current trainer and it has been received by them.  I was told we can look forward to photos of Musketeer with the bandanna soon-ish.

Fund Raising!
EVERY amount donated brings us closer!  We know funds are tight for many people, so we're offering the

THREE MUSKETEER CHALLENGE!

Challenging you to donate $3.00

Then for you to challenge only three others

to do the same!

MANY WAYS TO DO THE CHALLENGE:

1.)  DIRECTLY TO D.A.D.A.

1. Go to the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America website HERE.
2. CLICK on "PAYMENTS" at the bottom of the page, 2nd from the right in the blue section.
3. CLICK on "BUY NOW".
4. TYPE IN MUSKETEER PUPPY in the "DESCRIPTION".  WITHOUT TYPING IN "MUSKETEER PUPPY", DONATIONS WILL GET LOST!
5. TYPE IN $3.00 (or amount you wish to donate) in the "PRICE PER ITEM".
6. CLICK "CONTINUE".
7. CLICK "LOG IN" for Pay Pal or CLICK "PAY WITH DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD".
8. Continue onto the secure payment page.

2.)  Real Life Wells Fargo Bank

Donate to Musketeer the Diabetic Alert Dog at any Wells Fargo Bank.

3.)  Second Life

Donate at any Musketeer Donation spot (Marie's store).  750 L approx. equals $3.00 USD

If you have questions...

If you want to find out more, you are welcome to call D.A.D.A. (Diabetic Alert Dogs of America) by using the phone number on their website.

~OR~

Ask XMarieX Fairport in SL!

Thank you

for your

prayers,

encouragement,

emotional support,

financial assistance,

and for being

so

AMAZING!!!

YOU are appreciated!

Musketeer's 2nd Report Card

Musketeer has had his first full week of training through Diabetic Alert Dogs of America (find out more about them HERE).  He has learned "Yes", "eh eh" (No), "Stay", "Heel", "Sit" and "Down" (lay down) and is learning "handling" (being touched in different places so grooming, vet visits and the uninvited touch from others will be accepted calmly.  This coming week, he'll be working on perfecting his Sit and Down and starting to learn "Auto Sit", meaning any time the handler stops, he will sit.  He'll also work on "Watch me". 

D.A.D.A. (Diabetic Alert Dogs of America) usually doesn't start working on public access so early in the program, but his trainers were confident with it, so Musketeer went to Wal-Mart and did a fantastic job!  (The photo above was taken on that outing).

Three Musketeer Challenge

MANY WAYS TO DO THE CHALLENGE:

1.)  DIRECTLY TO D.A.D.A.

1. Go to the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America website HERE.
2. CLICK on "PAYMENTS" at the bottom of the page, 2nd from the right in the blue section.
3. CLICK on "BUY NOW".
4. TYPE IN MUSKETEER PUPPY in the "DESCRIPTION".  WITHOUT TYPING IN "MUSKETEER PUPPY", DONATIONS WILL GET LOST!
5. TYPE IN $3.00 (or amount you wish to donate) in the "PRICE PER ITEM".
6. CLICK "CONTINUE".
7. CLICK "LOG IN" or CLICK "PAY WITH DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD".
8. Continue onto the secure payment page.

2.)  Real Life Wells Fargo Bank

Donate to Musketeer the Diabetic Alert Dog at any Wells Fargo Bank.

3.)  Second Life

Donate at any Musketeer Donation spot (Marie's store).  750 L approx. equals $3.00 USD

Challenging you to donate $3.00

Then to challenge only three others

to do the same!

THANKS!

Thank you

for helping to welcome

Musketeer!

Kiva & I were thrilled to have folks help celebrate the service dog company finding my Musketeer!

Here are photos from the party, HUGE THANKS to Patty for taking so many photos and posting them!  See the Patty Party Pictures HERE.

Diabetic Alert Dogs of America will update Musketeer Puppy's Flickr page with photos and videos.  You can see that HERE.

Check below for the 3 Musketeer Challenge!  We are challenging you to donate only $3.00 USD and challenge three of your friends to do the same!  Ways to donate are mentioned below *OR* you may also fulfill the challenge by donating 750 L$ (that roughly equals $3.00 USD) in Second Life!  

The bandanna that I made Musketeer is on the way to the current trainer's house and they will be taking photos (and maybe a video) of Musketeer wearing it!  Perhaps we'll see that by the end of the week!

Musketeer's First Report Card

Musketeer did extremely well transferring from his breeder's to the first trainer's home.  Musketeer will be having several trainers so he won't get attached to just one person, that way after about 3 or 4 months with me, he'll realize that he will be with me forever.

He is quickly learning the basic commands of sit, down, stay, come.  Usually these dogs don't start public access training until they've been in the service dog program for at least a month.  Musketeer's trainer felt that Musketeer was ready and put a vest on him (Service dogs ARE NOT REQUIRED to wear a vest.  It does help cut down on all of the questions.).  Musketeer acted near perfectly at the store!  There was even a time that something accidentally fell off of the shelf and he stayed focused on the trainer!  GOOD PUPPY!

I was told he is learning VERY quickly.  I was also told Musketeer is a very HAPPY, SWEET and LOVING dog.

A BIT OF PERSONAL MUSKETEER INFO:

I was told Musketeer's breeder wanted to keep Musketeer to be a "stud dog" because he has the right look for an English Labrador AND an exceptional personality and brightness.  The service dog company ended up feeling so strongly that Musketeer was so extremely perfect for me, that they paid more than they usually do for dogs, so Musketeer could be in my life helping me.  It melts my heart!

Also...  Diabetic Alert Dogs of America does not do mobility training for the dogs.  I had let them know last year that I walk with a cane when I'm doing well, walk with a walker when my back is unhappy with me, and use an electric scooter when there is quite a bit of distance involved (like shopping, since I always forget something at the start and have to go back for it, I cover a LOT of ground).  WELL....  D.A.D.A. stepped up to the plate, they didn't have to, but they did...  they are training Musketeer to walk beside an electric cart!  That just completely WOWED me!  I think Musketeer is going to have to send some REALLY NICE Christmas gifts to those folks in December (if he's home for Christmas)!

Thank you for listening to me babble!

Thank you for your continued support via

prayers,

funding,

hiring us to DJ,

telling others,

listening to me go on and on about it

and

just for being YOU!

⚜

$ 3.00 CHALLENGE!

⚜

1. Go to the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America website HERE.
2. CLICK on "PAYMENTS" at the bottom of the page, 2nd from the right in the blue section.
3. CLICK on "BUY NOW".
4. TYPE IN MUSKETEER PUPPY in the "DESCRIPTION".  WITHOUT TYPING IN "MUSKETEER PUPPY", DONATIONS WILL GET LOST!
5. TYPE IN $3.00 (or amount you wish to donate) in the "PRICE PER ITEM".
6. CLICK "CONTINUE".
7. CLICK "LOG IN" or CLICK "PAY WITH DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD".
8. Continue onto the secure payment page.

PLEASE KNOW

ANY amount donated,

EVERY prayer made,

ALL of the time you spend listening

is a HUGE help

to Marie & her family

and is

GREATLY APPRECIATED!

THANK YOU!