#mall day

[move-likeyouregonna-die]

Do you guys like my son

[wormchamp72]

Claire and I literally wanted 2 go in2 Hot Topic. We literally just wanted 2 go in and see if they had any cool Emo merch or even Radiohead but then I remembered I do not want 2 financially support that band.

But then Hunter wanted 2 go in2 Aeropostale. The 3ff1n NORMIE store. That's where Brayden gets all his clothes. I tried 2 tell her that Randy from Jeff the Killer probably even buys clothes there but she said that didn't make it a bad brand. She said she thought some of the clothes were CUTE.

You think you know someone. You think you know someone and then they completely disregard your Aeropostale related trauma and rub it in your face. I should have known---she was Brayden's BFF since elementary school. Of COURSE she would still have some of that old NORMIE in her.

[sparkles-and-trash]

If autumn doesn’t come soon, I shall simply pretend it is here already 🍁☕️📚

[special-agent-goobs]

I WENT TO BUILD A BEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER TODAY

THIS IS SAMMY, HE IS BIRTHDAY CAKE SCENTED AND HE PLAYS THE BUDDY HOLLY WEEZER RIFF WHEN YOU PRESS HIS YELLOW HAND

I've had such a fun and exciting day today and I wanted to share thus happiness with you guys :D also I got some snacks at the mall too 😋

[m0nstercake]

[89wfox]

Here we have @divine-buni Alice and Rose having a mall day. thats what I thought would go well with this drawing seen here https://divine-buni.tumblr.com/post/174588059414/click-for-better-resolutionp-a-drawing-and-two

[sweetkissthings-blog]

[theworkingwigglebutt]

Super Successful Public Access Training at the Mall!! So Proud!! 🐶💕🐾

These are the faces of one SUPER proud SDiT team!! We took her to the mall for a walk-around for the second time (the first run on a public access place was the same mall, but for about 10 minutes right before closing on a Sunday, when it was empty). She did great then, but even better this time!!

Firstly, in the past few days she’s suddenly gotten an understanding of verbal “stand” and “down” cues (even though she knows to stand to follow me, and is pretty much always in a down-stay at my feet, or at my side in the chair, since we’ve had her). No idea why these took so much longer than “sit,” but once the lightbulb went on, she’d start doing them right away...and the downs came with a big proud smile that she’d turn to show me😂

So we got to play with those in a different setting, aced em all. Also aced her known walking commands of “stop” (which she’ll follow even before I stop moving), “turn,” “behind” to get behind my chair in a tight space, and “with me” to come back next to me, or a reminder to stay with me. Those she’s all solid on, and she usually does the last three automatically. Continuing to work on the “working” command to remind her that we’re working, if she’s looking towards a store too long, or turned to look at something, which only happened once or twice.

Was SUPER excited with the fact that she 1) ignored food on the floor while we were walking, 2) went into a down-stay and waited for us while some lady who didn’t know how to stop talking stopped us to ask if she was a Goldendoodle (nope, she’s a Labradoodle)...her butt/half her body had a little wiggle, but she HELD THE DOWN-STAY, even though we’ve never officially TAUGHT it yet, since she does it so much at home...we were so excited!! 3) No problems with excitement over little boys, which can be a distraction for her, cus she loves them...even when some kids walked into our path, right after ANOTHER couple did, and then another wheelchair had to pass and blocked us near them...no problems, overexcitement, or confusion.

And 4), my absolute SUPER fave proud moment...took her into Dave and Busters for MAYBE two minutes, a quick lap through and around some machines, in a circle about a third of the way in...she had NO problems. With the kids, bright lights, loud sounds (which even I MYSELF have issues with - hence the tinted glasses - and which I didn’t want to over-expose either of us to)...my Mikka didn’t lose a step, and followed every “behind” and “with me” despite all of the distractions and cute kids, even in narrow aisles.

I’m SO super proud of my girl! She was great in the car both ways, and even gave me medical response on some POTS presyncope from all the action after we got home. There’s a lot ahead to teach, work on with trainers...but I still feel like I always have, like she was BORN to be a service dog...she just has such a perfect, unflappable temperament, a love for her mama, an amazing nose, and is so trainable, on top of what seemed to come as “pre-programmed” SD behaviors😂

My advice to anyone that may read this, with a younger/newer SDiT...read your state laws, and see what the laws are, regarding SDiTs!! Far too many people in the SD community will shame others for taking SDiTs out for public access training...but the truth is, many of us - such as those of us in NY - have the STATE-GRANTED RIGHT to take our SDiTs into public (and which, duh, is necessary to train them!!).

In NY, an SD is described is any dog that “has been OR IS BEING TRAINED” to perform tasks to mitigate disability” (or something along those lines). The phrase “OR IS BEING TRAINED” are KEY!! If you have a well-behaved SDiT, the more experiences you can show your 🐶, the better! It will keep them from being fearful from things that they might not see/hear/smell until they’re much older, which can be VERY problematic (this training is a big part of socialization, which is KEY). As long as my SDiT behaves during public training, I have the right to do so, and it’s for the benefit of my dog. She did so well that I also think it reflected well on all SDs/SDITs in general, for anyone that might have seen her or been watching us...and that’s one of ANY handler/trainer’s goals, when working in public. Yay Mikka!!!

Any typos will be fixed later...I’m exhausted! But a SUPER PROUD, HAPPY exhausted!! 🐶💕🐾