Postings by Abrams Tank SDiT

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Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Thu May 23, '13 5:56pm PST  My husband is a disabled veteran who uses a SD, that dog being Tank, his psychologist has seen how much Tank helps with my hubbys PTSD and was outraged that per the new VA regulations Tank cannot go into the VA clinic when my hubby has any appointment. I'm not sure but I think he was going to write a letter because Tank is such a big help. Granted my hubby's disability rating is very low on both his back and his hearing, they are trying to deny his PTSD being service connected. Its a battle every day for him to just go from his chair to the kitchen for a cup of coffee unless Tank is loose in the house or Garnet is because he will have panic attacks just walking through my sons bedroom which is on his way to the kitchen. Yes we will start writing to all Indiana government to see what we can do to get this resolved my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Wed May 22, '13 10:51pm PST  My husband generally calls Tank his Tank-a-dank. I'm not exactly sure why but he does it and Tank will look at him pretty quickly. It depends on whats going on but generally if asked for his name we give his full name of Abrams Tank. He was given that name as a pup because he was built like a little Tank. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Service Dog etiquette book chapter

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Thu May 16, '13 12:00am PST  Personally I think its a very awesome chapter. Many people just dont get the fact that invisible disabilities. My husband who is Tank's actual handler is a disabled veteran and Tank has been out with us several times and most kids are really bad about just running up and petting Tank without asking. New Years Eve this year is a good example. Some friends of ours were putting on a wrestling show and invited us to come because two of them are co general managers of the independent wrestling group. We went and took Tank with us. A bunch of kids came running up when the group took their first intermission and I took Tank while my hubby went out for a smoke. I took Tank with me to get a drink of water and gave him water in his portable bowl. These kids with no parents in sight swarmed all over Tank while he was trying to get a drink. I asked them kindly to leave the dog alone the first time then got a little tougher each time after that. Finally I snapped something like go back to your parents and leave the dog alone! He needs a drink and cant get it with all of you in his face! The security guard came over and told them to go back to their drunk parents and stay with them or he would throw them all out. When we do meet people who ask if they can pet Tank or dont even notice him I find that he seems to focus on his handler faster afterwards. I am hoping that his sister is going to be as good a SDiT as he is in a few months. The only thing I could think of adding is maybe a comment like "Parents if you have your children with you and allow them to run up to me and my dog expect me to reach out and pet the baby in your arms just like your kids are doing to my dog. In other words parents please keep your kids close to you at all times or keep them leashed at all times. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Mobility task- retrieving my prosthetic

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Tue May 7, '13 12:58am PST  Personally I dont think it would hurt her to drag your prosthetic to you. She is the same age as my hubby's SDiT Tank and only 3 pounds lighter. I would start out by teaching her to retrieve a ball then when she is solid in bringing the ball to you and giving it to you then start working with one of the old prosthetics that you no longer use. Start out by having her just touch it at first and treat her for touching it, then slowly get her to where she will take it in her mouth. Slowly have her hold it for short periods of time then build up to having her bring it to you from about a foot away then gradually extend the distance that she has to drag it to you. If nothing else fit the one you use with a hole where you can slip a tug rope attached to a soft tug toy through but make sure you can remove the soft rope from the prosthetic before you put it on. Make sure to always treat her with something she likes each time she brings you the prosthetic. Hope this helps. There may be others that can add to what I suggested. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Cleaning your SD when you come back home?

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Mon May 6, '13 10:51pm PST  Tank gets a bath twice a month unless its really nasty out. Since he has the lab coat its easy to keep him pretty clean with just a good brushing with a rubber curry comb like you would use on a horse. His sister Bella is the same way easy to keep clean with just a quick brushing at least once a day. Their winter and puppy coats have been blowing but thankfully its not as bad as I expected. Since we havent been getting out much since collage is out for the summer and my hubby's agoraphobia is getting worse Tank stays pretty clean. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Mon Apr 29, '13 10:27pm PST  Thinking outside the box is what got my husband and I thinking and working with Tank to get him to do his behaviors. When it got to the point after he was over 50 pounds that picking him up to put him in our vehicle got rough on my back I started just playing with him and reinforcing his paws up command. Soon this new command came from teaching him to stand on his back paws with his paws on a chair or the bumper of the vehicle. I taught him with a treat in one hand and a clicker in the other and told him "Step up" then slowly it went to "Step up" and "All the way" I just never thought he would ever have to use it till we took him in for his rabies shot and heart worm test. He was 68 pounds then and that was the 3 of this month. His sister thinks that she can do anything he does and do it better. Its funny to watch while we are out walking. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > What should I have said?

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Sat Apr 27, '13 9:26pm PST  I know how you are feeling Chaplin. I have a friend who has seen my husband and I working with Tank out in public and she and her husband both suffer from depression and they think that they both can use the same dog to help them with their depression. The husband works in the kitchen of a restaurant and I know that a dog cannot go into that area and have tried to explain that many times. One of the two of them said to us "we want a dog that can do what Tank does but we arent going to train it." I just shook my head and walked away because I know how much work it is to get a dog to behave like Tank does. Tank knows commands like 'step up' where he steps up onto a chair or counter at the vet with just his front paws or 'all the way' which means that he needs to step all the way up like on the vet's exam table. At almost 70 pounds its a little hard on me to lift him and my hubby cant lift him. We are still working on some commands with Tank and he is coming along well. But he is a SDiT and will be until we feel he is ready to become a full fledged SD. His sister Queen Belladonna thinks that when we are just out with the two of them as dogs that when we ask Tank to do one of his behaviors that she can do them too. I would suggest to this family member that they work on task training and keep the dog as a SDiT for a while. On another note my husband's VA shrink as we call him has said that from what my husband has told him about me I suffer from secondary PTSD and has seen the way that my working with Tank seems to help and has suggested that I try training my own SD. I dont know if I will or not but I know I need to make a decision soon. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Stuff people say about SDs

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Sat Apr 27, '13 9:07pm PST  My biological father hates the fact that my husband and I are often out and about with Tank because of my husband's disabilities. He was pretty hateful here not to long ago when we took my son home because we had Tank with us. He was snappy and said something really rude about not understanding why we had to have that damned dog with us all the time when it doesnt do any good for anything because all the dog is out for is itself. I snapped back and told him that at least we know where Tank's loyalties lie and at least he wont run up a huge phone bill or a huge light bill on us. My middle sister doesnt think that my husband is disabled enough to need a dog. She thinks he is just lazy and doesnt want to work. I told her she needs to spend a week living with him like I have for the last 15 years. Our ex roommate said that Tank is not a service dog because he is too stupid and doesnt know how to shut up with his barking, which he only does if he is out in the yard and a stranger comes into his yard. I didnt say it but I should have told him that at least Tank is smarter than his little Boston Terrier Psycho who chewed up a $2000.00 couch and loveseat. Tank at 15 months old already knows more commands than Psycho does at 6 years old. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Service & Therapy Dogs > Gear question for the heat

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Sat Apr 27, '13 8:58pm PST  Last summer we bought a pouch that fits under the dogs harness against the chest. You put a damp pad inside the pouch and attach the pouch to their harness and or collar. It works the same way that the cooling jackets do but requires less cold water. Tank loved his and we used it all summer to keep him cool while we were outside in the yard. I dont remember exactly what its called though I want to say its called Theri cool and you can pick them up at walmart. They also work similar to the cooling bandanas that we humans use. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Abrams Tank- SDiT I'm trying to- fill some BIG- paws     Barked: Thu Apr 25, '13 3:37pm PST  I have to agree with Sadie on this. My husband's first two Service Dogs Buddy a yellow lab and Katana a doberman were both pure bred and although both were pure breeds they were not without their problems. Katana died last summer of a heart attack. Buddy was stolen but we were told when we got him from someone else that he had been exposed to Parvo. His current dog Abrams Tank was seen by the vet a few weeks ago and so far so good. Tank is a mixed breed half German Shepherd half lab and is so mellow and happy go lucky its funny. He has this insane play drive that tends to turn into a very insane work drive when he needs to go to work. Its like a switch is flipped in his head. He can be in the middle of a game of ball with the hubby and I grab his vest,halti,harness and leash and he settles down and gets ready to go to work. So pure or mixed breeds as long as they are willing to work and can do their tasks efficiently it shouldnt matter my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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