Hi Cait and Jody. Sedona is 20 inches at the shoulder,which is within the
standard for females.I don't know what she weighs as I have not had her to
the vet's in a while. Probably, 40 to 47 lbs. I had hoped that she would
grow to 22 inches which is what Neechee is. I am using a 20 inch long
guide handle and it works. I need to get an off set handle as she walks too
close to me, I am trying to keep he over more to the left but she keeps
drifting back to the right. She is still very people distracted to the
point of stopping to watch them. I have to keep saying forward and then she
will start walking again. The dogs, the cars, the noise,she just ignores,
but she has this fascination with people. As soon as we return home and I
take her harness off, she becomes a "wild child again". she runs around the
yard at break neck speed and trys to play with the other dogs, but they
don't want to play as most of them are older dogs. Neechee and Tess will
play with her but even they get tired of her after a little while. She
plays very rough, and I used to think that Huskies played rough! I have no
garden hoses left, as she has chewed through all of them. No matter where I
hide them from her, she finds them. She opened the shed door and got the
last one. I can't dry laundry on the clothesline as she takes every thing
off and drags it through the dirt and chews it up. She has a special
affinity for my socks. I have to hang laundry after I bring her back in the
house. I have to bring in the laundry before I put her out, and sometimes I
forget. I used to keep a blanket on my porch for Myah, to sleep on when the
nights were cold, but if I don't pick it up and put it away before I let
Sedona out, she will grab it and run off with it. I work her every day and
we do obedience and I let her stay out to run in the yard for 4 to 5 hours.
This is the only way I can live with her., I still don't understand how she
controls herself and is calm when she is in harness. She is one very odd
dog, but she is very sweet and affectionate, and I love her, even though
she can be a pain in the butt. Most of the time, she is "BATTERIES
UNLIMMITED, WITHOUT A SHUT OFF SWITCH" ! She is unlike any other dog I
have ever had. Mardi
On Tue, Feb 28, 2017 at 8:33 AM, Jody ianuzzi <thunderwalker321@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Mardi
Great update. I am glad that you are feeling better. That must've been
very scary! I am glad that your girl is doing so well.
Jody
New phone number
603 757-9933 <(603)%20757-9933>
thunderwalker321@xxxxxxxxx
50 Years of Star Trek!
Live Long and Prosper!
On Feb 28, 2017, at 4:02 AM, Mardi Hadfield <wolfsinger.lakota@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi everyone, Mardi here. It has been awhile since I have given a Sedona
up date so here it is. I was not able to work with her from Thanksgiving to
Christmas as I was in the hospital twice with the infection in my legs. I
was still not able to work with her as my legs were in no condition to do
anything. I had to remain in bed most of the time with my legs elevated, to
get the swelling down. We did however practice obedience. Now that I am on
a combination of pain meds and prednisone, I am actually able to walk
some. A few days ago, I put a guide harness on Sedona for the first
time. Instead of working her with the wheelchair like I had been doing, I
decided to walk with her around the block. She walks slow enough for me as
I walk very slowly. She also walks fast enough to work with the power
wheelchair, and equally fast or slow enough to work with the manual
wheelchair.Any way, getting back to our trek around the block. She does a
lot of sniffing,so today I used the halti and by the end of the walk,she
was no longer sniffing at all. She gets distracted by people but redirects
fairly fast. She is really good about dogs that bark at her and rush the
fence. She will look at them but she remains calm and unreactive, and
walks on by them.We have not yet had an encounter with a loose dog.Loud
noises do no bother her,and a plastic cup that blew across the street
towards her,she totally ignored. She is good with Traffic,but we have not
really had any traffic checks yet. She is learning to stop at curb cuts and
curbs if I am walking.She will stop at streets before crossing and also
driveways.She is also very careful on uneven ground or broken sidewalks.She
seems to enjoy working and is eager to go out with me.I am very pleased
with the way her training in going. I am very proud of my little Sedona.!
She is becoming a real guide dog. Even when I have to stop and rest for a
few moments,she will sit with me calmly,until I am ready to walk the rest
of the way home. I am really enjoying the training and so is Sedona.I
have also been working on retrieving with her, which is something I could
really utilize. She is eager to learn and I am not using treats. I don't
need them as she loves to be praised. For a dog that has so much energy,
she is learning to control it and is remaining calm when in harness. I have
not taken her out to stores in a while, so I am going to start that again
and maybe we will try a restaurant and see how that goes. I have no doubt
that Sedona will make it as a guide dog. I am so proud of her.! Mardi
and Shaman,retired and Neechee,GD and Sedona, GDIT.
--
http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com
